Research
BPEA | 1997 No. 1How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?
George J. Borjas,
George J. Borjas
Harvard University
Lawrence F. Katz, and
Richard B. Freeman
Richard B. Freeman
Ascherman Professor of Economics
- Harvard University
1997, No. 1
IMMIGRATION AND TRADE-particularly with less developed countries
(LDCs)-have become more significant to the U.S. economy since the
1960s than they were earlier in the postwar period. The number of
immigrants relative to native-born workers has risen; an increasing
proportion of immigrants come from less developed countries; and a
disproportionate number of immigrants have relatively little schooling.
The ratio of exports and imports to GDP has risen as well, and an
increasing proportion of imports have come from less developed countries.
Immigration and trade have thus increased the effective labor
supply of less skilled workers in the United States, with potential consequences
for relative wages and employment.
To what extent might the economic woes of less skilled and lowpaid
American workers be attributed to changes in trade or immigration?
To what extent have immigration and trade benefited other
Americans?