Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market: Responding to Economic Needs
This volume, which brings together research by leading economists and labor market specialists, examines the role immigrants play in the U.S. workforce, how they fare in good and bad economic times, and the effects they have on native-born workers and the labor sectors in which they are engaged. The book traces the powerful economic forces at play in today’s globalized world and includes policy prescriptions for making the American immigration system more responsive to labor market needs.
Chapters examine employment outcomes for low-skilled, middle-skilled, and high-skilled workers; assess the economic effects of illegal immigration; trace immigrants’ trajectories in the construction, health care, hospitality, and information technology sectors; and detail the impact of immigration in recession and economic expansion.
Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market is the product of the Migration Policy Institute’s (MPI) Labor Markets Initiative, which provides a comprehensive, policy-focused review of the role of immigration in the labor market. The initiative produces detailed policy recommendations on how the United States should rethink its immigration policy in the light of what is known about the economic impact of immigration—bearing in mind the current context of the economic crisis, growing income inequality, concerns about the effect of globalization on U.S. competitiveness, the competition for highly skilled migrants, and demographic and tech-nological change.
Introduction: Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market: An Overview
Michael Fix, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Madeleine Sumption
Part One: What Kind of Immigration Policy Does the U.S. Economy Need?
Immigration Policy and Less-Skilled Workers in the United States: Reflections on Future Directions for Reform
Harry J. Holzer
The Economics of Illegal Immigration in the United States: Policy Implications
Gordon H. Hanson
The Impact of Immigrants in Recession and Economic Expansion
Giovanni Peri
The Elusive Idea of Labor-Market ‘Shortages’ and the U.S. Approach to Employment-Based Immigration Policy
Madeleine Sumption
Part Two: New Barriers to Immigrant Integration in a Weak Economy
How Immigrants and U.S. Natives Fare during Recessions and Recoveries
Pia M. Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny
Eroding Gains: The Recession’s Impact on Immigrants in Middle-Skilled Jobs
Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix