Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Abstract
In this article, I draw upon economic theory and recent empirical work on the economic and fiscal effects of immigration to evaluate some recent proposals for immigration reform in terms of their effects on the economic welfare of natives in the United States. In particular, I consider the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, a bill that would cut immigration to half of its current level. President Donald Trump has endorsed the RAISE Act and has insisted that many of its provisions be part of any legislation legalizing the status of unauthorized immigrants granted relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. I compare this restrictionist proposal to the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013, which would have liberalized admissions to the United States. I conclude that economic analysis militates in favor of liberalizing our immigration restrictions, as proposed in 2013, instead of imposing the drastic new restrictions proposed in the RAISE Act.
Keywords
Law & economics, impacts of immigration, benefit/cost analysis, public goods, government spending, taxes, transfer payments, entitlements, family-sponsored & employer-sponsored visas, quotas, wage effects, job skills, path to citizenship
Publication Title
UC Davis Law Review
Repository Citation
Chang, Howard F., "The Economics of Immigration Reform" (2018). All Faculty Scholarship. 1989.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/1989
Included in
Economic Policy Commons, Immigration Law Commons, Income Distribution Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Economics Commons, Public Policy Commons
Publication Citation
52 UC Davis L. Rev. 111 (2018)