Immigrants

CHICAGO, June 2 [AScribe Newswire] -- An in-depth look at immigration and its impact on America's economy is the focus of a new book written by a University of Illinois at Chicago economist.

"The Economics of Immigration" [Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2005] by Barry R. Chiswick, distinguished professor and head of economics at UIC, explores why immigrants move, their labor market adjustment in the destination country, the economic impact they have on their destination, and immigration policy.

The book, organized into five sections, consists of 16 widely cited papers Chiswick published over a span of 25 years. The book begins with a foreword

by Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker.

"What I've tried to do is to identify my most important work," said Chiswick, a former senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under presidents Nixon and Ford.

According to statistics cited by Chiswick, one in every eight people currently residing in the United States was born outside the country, whereas in 1970, it was less than one in 20. And the foreign-born share of the population can be expected to increase in the coming decades, Chiswick says, because all indications are that the pressures and incentives for people to migrate to the United States are on the rise.

The issue of who is helped and harmed by the increases in the foreign-born population has to be addressed by looking at specific skill levels, Chiswick said.

"What we have seen over time in the United States has been a large increase in the number of very high-skilled immigrants," Chiswick explained. "We've also seen a relatively larger increase in the number of very low-skilled immigrants. This has had an effect on income distribution among the native-born workers."