Immigration in American Economic History
Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan
The United States has long been perceived as a land of opportunity for immigrants. Yet, both in the past and today, US natives have expressed concern that immigrants fail to integrate into US society and lower wages for existing workers. This paper reviews the literatures on historical and contemporary migrant flows, yielding new insights on migrant selection, assimilation of immigrants into US economy and society, and the effect of immigration on the labor market.
The United States has long been perceived as a land of opportunity, a place where prospective immigrants can achieve prosperity and upward mobility.1 Yet, both in the past and today, US natives have expressed concern that immigration lowers wages and that new arrivals fail to assimilate into US society. These fears have influenced historical immigration policy and are echoed in contemporary debates.2
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5794227/
