Jackson Library

Hot Topics: Economics and Immigration

Selected articles

Due to contractual arrangements, access to some articles may be restricted to the Stanford community, and subscribers of the "Library Databases" offered through the GSB Alumni's Lifelong Learning Program. Inclusion below does not imply University endorsement of the ideas expressed.

Businesses Face Cut in Immigrant Work Force. New York Times, 3/14/08
This summer, the foreign workers will not be returning, and Mr. Zammer, like other seasonal employers across the nation, is scrambling to find replacements.
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White House Moves to Ease Guest Worker Program. New York Times, 2/7/08
The Bush administration announced plans to overhaul the notoriously inefficient federal guest worker program for agriculture, seeking to provide more legal workers to American farmers who now rely primarily on illegal immigrants.
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No immigration reform may cost NY farms. Associated Press, 12/18/07
The failure of Congress to ensure that there are enough migrant workers in the nation's labor force could eventually cost New York agriculture hundreds of millions of dollars in lost crops and hundreds of thousands of acres in lost farmland, according to experts Tuesday at an agribusiness conference.
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Towns Rethink Laws Against Illegal Immigrants. New York Times, 9/26/07
A little more than a year ago, the Township Committee in this faded factory town became the first municipality in New Jersey to enact legislation penalizing anyone who employed or rented to an illegal immigrant.
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Labor Shortages: Myth and Reality. BusinessWeek, 8/21/07
With higher pay, there are plenty of U.S. workers to fill jobs, some economists say.
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Can Business Solve the Immigration Mess? BusinessWeek, 7/31/07
After the federal government failed to pass immigration reform, states and cities are looking to companies to address the issue.
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Do Highly Educated Immigrant Entrepreneurs Help the U.S. Maintain Its Edge? Knowledge@Wharton, 6/27/07
Based on a survey of 28,000 companies, a new study found that immigrants in the U.S. who are creators of companies combine entrepreneurial drive with strong educational backgrounds, especially in the so-called "STEM" areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
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White House Report Lauds Immigrants’ Positive Effects. New York Times, 6/20/07
Hoping to influence Congressional debate, the White House issued a report on Tuesday saying, “Immigration has a positive effect on the American economy as a whole and on the income of native-born American workers.”
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On the Fence: Are Illegal Immigrants Good or Bad for the U.S. Economy? Knowledge@Wharton, 6/13/07
A clash of faiths in the U.S. Senate last week led to the collapse of the country's first major immigration reform bill in two decades. On one side were the pragmatists, backed by the Bush administration, who say the country needs to accept that its estimated 12 million illegal residents are likely here to stay, and it should offer them a path to citizenship. On the other side were the idealists, who say lawbreakers shouldn't be rewarded, and that doing so would only encourage more illegal immigration.
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Why business is running scared. U.S. News & World Report, 5/27/07
Perhaps no one has a bigger stake in reforming the nation's immigration laws than American businesses. Industries from agriculture to construction to high tech all depend heavily on immigrant labor, legal or illegal.
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The Economic logic of illegal immigration. Council on Foreign Relations, April 2007
By focusing on the economic costs and benefits of legal and illegal immigration, Professor Hanson concludes that stemming illegal immigration would likely lead to a net drain on the U.S. economy—a finding that calls into question many of the proposals to increase funding for border protection.
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Study says immigrants vie with earlier arrivals. San Francisco Chronicle, 2/28/07
Immigrants do not compete with U.S.-born workers for jobs in California, and their presence actually has boosted the wages of all but the least-educated American-born workers, according to a study released Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.
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Nafta Should Have Stopped Illegal Immigration, Right? New York Times, 2/18/07
The North American Free Trade Agreement, enacted by Congress 14 years ago, held out an alluring promise: the agreement would reduce illegal immigration from Mexico. Mexicans, the argument went, would enjoy the prosperity and employment that the trade agreement would undoubtedly generate — and not feel the need to cross the border into the United States.
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Page updated by: Nora Richardson

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