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Immigration, International Economics, Labor Economics, Urban Economics

• PhD (2006), MA (2002), University of California-Davis
  • Economics
• BA (2000), Western Washington University
  • Major: Economics
  • Minor: Humanities

Links to most of my publications and working papers can also be or by request. (*Denotes undergraduate student coauthor.)

Publications

• “The Impact of Secure Communities on the Labor Market Outcomes of Immigrant Women” (with Cynthia Bansak and Sarah Pearlman), accepted for publication at Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2024.
• “Buying Lottery Tickets for Foreign Workers: Lost Quota Rents Induced by H-1B Policy” (with Rishi Sharma), at Journal of International Economics, Vol. 150(C), 2024.
• “Coping with H-1B Shortages: Firm Performance and Mitigation Strategies” (with Anna Maria Mayda, Francesc Ortega, Giovanni Peri, and Kevin Shih), Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 76 (5): 919-943, October 2023. (; ).
• “Immigration, Working Conditions, and Compensating Differentials” (with Madeline Zavodny), Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 75 (4): 1054-1081, August 2022. (; ).
• “New Data and Facts on H-1B Workers across Firms” (with Anna Maria Mayda, Francesc Ortega, Giovanni Peri, and Kevin Shih) in The Roles of Immigrants and Foreign Students in US Science, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Edited by Ina Ganguli, Shulamit Kahn, Megan MacGarvie, University of Chicago Press. February 2020.
• “Estimating the Determinants of Remittances Originating from U.S. Households using CPS Data” (with Nicole B. Simpson), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 46 (1): 161-189, January 2020.
• “Substitution between Groups of Highly-Educated, Foreign-Born, H-1B Workers,” Labour Economics, Vol. 61, December 2019.
• “The Effect of the H-1B Quota on the Employment and Selection of Foreign-Born Labor” (with Anna Maria Mayda, Francesc Ortega, Giovanni Peri, and Kevin Shih), European Economic Review, Vol. 108: 105-128, September 2018. ()
• “Choosing Skilled Foreign-Born Workers: Evaluating Alternative Methods for Allocating H-1B Work Permits,” Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Vol. 57 (1): 3-34, January 2018. (, Working Paper 2017) [Earlier Version Title: “Building a Better H-1B Program” ()]
• “The Native-Born Occupational Skill Response to Immigration within Education and Experience Cells” (with Emily Gu*), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 43 (3): 426-450, June 2017. ()
• “The Effect of Legal Status on Immigrant Wages and Occupational Skills” (with Quinn Steigleder*, undergraduate student), ​Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 24 (2): 80-84, 2017. (; )
• “Skilled Immigrants: Economic Contribution and Policy Implications” (with Francesc Ortega) in , Francesco Fasani ed., London: CEPR Press, Centre for Economic Policy Research, October 2016. Pages 81-97. VoxEU.org eBook
• “STEM Workers, H-1B Visas, and Productivity in US Cities” (with Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih), Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 33 (No. S1, US High-Skilled Immigration in the Global Economy): S225-S255, July 2015. (; )
• “In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants and its Impact on College Enrollment, Tuition Costs, Student Financial Aid, and Indebtedness” (with Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes), Regional Studies and Urban Economics, Vol. 49: 11-24, November 2014. (; )
• “Foreign Scientists and Engineers and Economic Growth” (with Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih), Cato Papers on Public Policy, Vol. 3: 107-184, 2014. ()
• “Migration Theory” (with Örn B. Bodvarsson and Nicole Simpson) in Handbook on the Economics of International Migration, Barry Chiswick and Paul Miller, eds., Amsterdam: North Holland (Elsevier), 2015. Pages 3-51. ISBN-13: 978-0-444-53764-5
• “Short- and Long-Run Determinants of Less-Educated Immigration Flows into U.S. States” (with Nicole Simpson), Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 80 (2): 414-438, October 2013. (; )
• “Quotas and Quality: The Effect of H-1B Visa Restrictions on the Pool of Prospective Undergraduate Students from Abroad” (with Takao Kato), Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 95 (1): 109-126, March 2013. ()
• “Highly-Educated Immigrants and Native Occupational Choice” (with Giovanni Peri), Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Vol. 50 (3): 385-411, July 2011. (; Working Paper 2010)
• “Assessing Inherent Model Bias: An Application to Native Displacement in Response to Immigration” (with Giovanni Peri), Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 69 (1): 82-91, January 2011. (; )
• “Racial Diversity and Macroeconomic Productivity across U.S. States and Cities,” Regional Studies, Vol. 44 (1): 71-85, February 2010. (; Working Paper)
• “Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages” (with Giovanni Peri), American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol. 1 (3): 135-169, July 2009. () [Earlier Version Title: “Task Specialization, Comparative Advantages, and the Effects of Immigration on Wages”. ()]
• “Racial Diversity and Aggregate Productivity in US Industries: 1980-2000,” Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 75 (3): 829-856, January 2009. (; Working Paper) [Earlier Version Title: “Racial Diversity and Economic Productivity - Industry Level Evidence”]
• “A Theory of Racial Diversity, Segregation, and Productivity,” Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 87 (2): 210-226, October 2008. (; Working Paper)

Working Papers

• “Foreign and Native Skilled Workers: What Can We Learn from H-1B Lotteries?” (with Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih), , May 2015.
• “Foreign STEM Workers and Native Wages and Employment in U.S. Cities” (with Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih), , May 2014.
• “Unemployment, Skills, and the Business Cycle since 2000” (with Jasmine Sijie Fan*), , September 2012.

Public Scholarship

• (with Rishi Sharma),  Cato Institute Research Briefs in Economic Policy, Number 246, January 2021
• (with Giovanni Peri), Los Angeles Times, 24 August 2020
• (with Giovanni Peri, and Kevin Shih), Policy Brief, UC Davis Global Migration Center, 13 July 2020
• (with Giovanni Peri), Policy Brief, UC Davis Global Migration Center, 2 July 2020
• (with Anna Maria Mayda, Francesc Ortega, Giovanni Peri, and Kevin Shih), VoxEU, 1 April 2018
•  Cato Institute Research Briefs in Economic Policy, Number 84, September 2017
• (with Giovanni Peri, Kevin Shih, and Angie Marek Zeitlin), Partnership for a New American Economy, 4 June 2014
• (with Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih), VoxEU, 29 May 2014

Policy Briefings, Testimony, and Presentations

• Council on Foreign Relations , ; New York, NY; April 2022
• on skilled immigration in DOMINGO ARREGUIN GOMEZ, et al., v. DONALD J. TRUMP civil action.
• Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, Testimony on “”; Washington, DC; February 25, 2016
• Written Testimony
• Responses to Questions for the Record from Chairman Grassley
• Capitol Hill Briefing, “Understanding and Improving the H-1B Visa Program”; Washington, DC; April 2015
• Center for American Progress, “Convening on the Economics of Immigration” (Labor Market Effects of Immigration and Legalization Panel); Washington, DC; November 2014
• Georgetown University McCourt School Policy Conference (Economics Panel); February 2014

Television Appearances

• Panelist, , WCNY Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Member Television Station, Syracuse, New York. June 2021 – Present

Selected News, Blog, and Policy Citations

• (2024): A recap of my conversation with Karl Rove, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to George W Bush.
• (2024): A Paul Krugman op-ed that links to our work on immigrants and jobs.
• (2023): H-1B restrictions push jobs overseas.
• (2023): H-1B workers and recessions.
• (2022): Quotes about the H-1B program and ways it can be changed.
• (2022): The H-1B Lottery as bad immigration law.
•  (2021): Potential Changes to the H-1B program in 2021.
•  (2021): Harming the economy by reducing immigration.
•  (2021): On vacancies in computer-related occupations.
•  (2021): Policy-maker attempts to end the H-1B program.
• (2020): Immigration is not a zero sum game.
• (2020): Concerns about H-1B restrictions.
• and  (2019): Evidence on H-1B and jobs.
• (2018): Evidence on H-1B and productivity.
• (2018): A quote about research on refugees.
•  (2018): A quote on H-1B workers and team-building.
•  (2018): H-1Bs exhausted again.
•  (2018): On cuts to the H-1B program.
• (2017): The diversity visa lottery.
•  (2017): On the importance of low-skilled immigrants.
•  (2017): Three economists' reactions to the Cotton-Perdue RAISE Act.
• (2017): A call for skill-based immigration reform.
•  (2017): A comment about robots taking Americans' jobs.
•  (2017): Op-ed written by my coauthor, Kevin Shih.
•  and  (2017): Op-eds citing benefits of immigration.
•  (2016): H-1B and job creation.
•  (2016): On illegal immigration.
•  (2016) and  (2016): An article about how immigrants fuel economic growth.
• (2016): Fact-checking Hillary Clinton.
• (2015): Our research cited in criticism of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I/D).
• (2015): Our research cited in criticism of Sen. Jefferson Sessions (R).
•  and (2015): Our research cited in criticism of Gov. Scott Walker (R).
• (2015): An opinion page entry by Tim Kane arguing that "one can oppose the Obama administration’s executive actions... and still favor more legal immigration."
•  (2015): Immigrants and efficient labor allocation.
• Council of Economic Advisers (2014): A document outlining the economic rationale for President Obama's executive action on immigration.
• (2014): A brief summary of the summary in the NBER Digest. 
• (2014): Technical summary of our STEM immigration work.
• Wall Street Journal and (2014): STEM immigrants and native wage and employment growth.
• and (2014): Foreign STEM workers and US productivity growth.
• (2013): I take no position on the article's title, "We Don't Need More Humanities Majors," but I appreciate the citation about the importance of foreign STEM workers.
• (2013): Comprehensive immigration reform and the effects of less-educated immigrants.
• and (2013): Skill specialization of less-educated workers and controversial comments by a Marco Rubio aide.
• The Times of India (, ) and (2013): H-1B benefits from an Indian media perspective.
• (2013): Arguments supporting expansion of the  H-1B program (a favorable citation).
• (2013): Arguments against expansion of the H-1B program (a less-than-favorable citation).
• (2013): An op-ed piece about highly educated immigrants' contributions to U.S. productivity.
•  (2012): An article arguing that immigration has not responsible for declines in the U.S. standard of living.
•  (2012): A lengthier discussion of immigration and jobs.
• Cato Institute (2012): A policy piece using my co-authored research as evidence that the U.S. should not restrict immigration.
• (2011): Video on the effects of H-1B policy on university education.
• Federal Reserve (2010): A brief summary of immigration’s effect on the U.S. labor market.
• (2008): A blog that calls my co-authored work “typical neoclassical pig manure… by bloviating nimrod economist(s).”
• (2007): More evidence on the gains from immigration.
• (2007): Fareed Zakaria’s take on our research.
• (2001): A piece of urban economics from my first job after college.
• (1999): My undergraduate contribution to urban economics.
• Bremerton Sun (1989): My first public opinion on an economic issue has changed since age 12.