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Title: Global Talent and U.S. Immigration Policy
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2020
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Abstract: Talent is the most valuable resource in our modern, knowledge-intensive economy, and the global distribution of talent shapes the competitiveness of firms, the strength of our economy, and the social fabric of our communities. This chapter describes the movement of talent and the policies that shape these people flows, which are among the most important decisions countries make. While America has benefitted substantially from inflows of global talent since the 1970s, this lure has often been because of the economic or social features of our country, rather than a particularly effective policy environment. US leaders have an opportunity to design a better immigration system that will improve US competitiveness in the decades to come. Most of this chapter focuses on employment-based migration for skilled work. Employment-based migration is a modest share of immigration to America, with family-based migration accounting for the majority of green cards granted each year. While many migrants entering through family-based channels work hard and pursue the “American Dream”, the policy objectives and potential reforms to family- vs. employment-based categories are quite different, and respondents to public opinion polls have divergent feelings regarding the categories. I thus focus primarily on potential changes to employment-based migration policy, touching upon comprehensive immigration reform at the end of the chapter. Regardless of who occupies the Oval Office on January 20, 2021, America faces challenging immigration policy issues that have been building up for more than two decades. The rhetoric around immigration is far more caustic than it was before 2016, and it may become far worse as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out and politicians ascribe blame during the election cycle. But, beyond the headlines, most of the issues described in this chapter are about outdated features of the US policy structure that don’t fit well with the modern economy. As the world becomes more competitive and attractive for global talent, each missed opportunity to update our system makes us less competitive in the future.
Url: https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication Files/20-107_0967f1ab-1d23-4d54-b5a1-c884234d9b31.pdf
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Authors: Kerr, William R
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Publication Number: 20-107
Institution: Harvard Business School
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration
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