The Economics of U.S. Immigration Reform

Abstract

The United States receives more immigrants than any other country. Most of those immigrants are admitted under policies that were created decades ago, although a sizable share enters illegally. This article provides an overview of trends in immigration to the United States. It summarizes the literature on the economic effects of immigration in the United States and discusses how policy can be reformed to increase immigration’s economic contribution. The article argues that the country should increase the number of visas awarded to workers and adopt an auction-based system for admitting those workers.

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