US

High-Skilled Immigrants

The average US citizen would be better off if a larger number of highly educated foreign workers were legally allowed to immigrate to the US each year.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu
MIT
Strongly Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Alesina
Alberto Alesina
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Altonji
Joseph Altonji
Yale
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Auerbach
Alan Auerbach
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Autor
David Autor
MIT
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Baicker
Katherine Baicker
University of Chicago
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Bertrand
Marianne Bertrand
Chicago
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Chetty
Raj Chetty
Harvard
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Chevalier
Judith Chevalier
Yale
Strongly Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
See Mankiw's NY Times column for a good discussion.
Currie
Janet Currie
Princeton
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Cutler
David Cutler
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Deaton
Angus Deaton
Princeton
Strongly Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Duffie
Darrell Duffie
Stanford
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
If the supply of high-skilled labor is constrained as now, productivity is harmed and the average person pays more for goods and services.
Edlin
Aaron Edlin
Berkeley Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Eichengreen
Barry Eichengreen
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Fair
Ray Fair
Yale
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Goldberg
Pinelopi Goldberg
Yale
Strongly Agree
1
Bio/Vote History
Goldin
Claudia Goldin
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee
Chicago
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
duh
Greenstone
Michael Greenstone
University of Chicago
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Hall
Robert Hall
Stanford
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
The big issue in immigration is the families of the workers. Almost any worker is a benefit, but the other family members may be costly.
Holmström
Bengt Holmström
MIT
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Hoxby
Caroline Hoxby
Stanford
Uncertain
10
Bio/Vote History
As a matter of economics,question does not have a simple answer.There are trade-offs.Canada's immigration suggests positive overall effects.
Judd
Kenneth Judd
Stanford
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Kashyap
Anil Kashyap
Chicago Booth
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Klenow
Pete Klenow
Stanford
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Levin
Jonathan Levin
Stanford
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Economic growth and fiscal benefits, and wage reductions for comparable domestic workers, all seem hard to measure.
-see background information here
Maskin
Eric Maskin
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Nordhaus
William Nordhaus
Yale
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Obstfeld
Maurice Obstfeld
Berkeley
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Saez
Emmanuel Saez
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Scheinkman
José Scheinkman
Columbia University
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Schmalensee
Richard Schmalensee
MIT
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Some highly educated natives would likely lose, but I expect there would be net gains overall. Hard to be very confident, though.
Shin
Hyun Song Shin
Princeton
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Stokey
Nancy Stokey
University of Chicago
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Thaler
Richard Thaler
Chicago Booth
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
This is a no brainer. You can't be serious about "job creators" without supporting reform here.
Udry
Christopher Udry
Northwestern
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
The overall benefits of increased migration of this kind are enormous. The distribution of these benefits is less well-understood.
-see background information here
Zingales
Luigi Zingales
Chicago Booth
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History