Full Citation

Title: Do Decreased Immigration Restrictions Lower Immigrant Quality? Evidence from a Natural Experiment of Pacific Island Immigrants

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: The effects of immigration restrictions on the composition of immigrants has long been debated. Human capital accumulation models suggest that direct costs to immigration cause only individuals from the upper end of the quality distribution to immigrate. However, empirical analysis of changes in immigration restrictions on immigrant composition is limited. In this paper I exploit a relatively unknown policy change which provides a natural experiment to study the effect of decreasing immigration restrictions on the quality, as measured by education levels, of new immigrants. In 1986, the United States agreed to exempt citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands from meeting U.S. passport, visa, and labor certification requirements. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-difference framework with two contrasting control groups. Results suggest that the policy substantially decreased the average education level of both male and female immigrants from the treated countries who immigrated after the policy change.

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Authors: Depew, Briggs

Publisher: University of Arizona

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration, Other

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