El Opinador Compulsivo

Citizen Quién insiste con el tema: la inmigración es una de las claves del éxito americano. Para quienes todavía no están del todo convencidos, este artículo del WSJ de hoy:

A common assumption of immigration critics is that alien workers are either stealing American jobs or reducing home-grown wages. But both notions are flawed, according to a new and illuminating study by economist Giovanni Peri for the Public Policy Institute of California. Using Census data, Mr. Peri analyzed the effects of immigrant labor on California, home to some 30% of all foreign-born workers in the U.S. The University of California at Davis economist found "no evidence that the inflow of immigrants over the period 1960-2004 worsened the employment opportunities of natives with similar education and experience." As to wages, Mr. Peri found that, "during 1990-2004, immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average native worker. This effect ranged from near zero (+0.2%) for wages of native high school dropouts and between 3 and 7 percent for native workers with at least a high school diploma." This means immigrants not only aren't "stealing" jobs; they're helping to boost the pay of native U.S. workers. These findings aren't as shocking as they might first seem once you consider the abilities that immigrants bring here, and how they compare with those of U.S. natives. Most immigrants fall into one of two categories: unskilled laborers with less than a high-school diploma and skilled professionals with advanced degrees. In 2004, 67% of California workers who lacked a high-school diploma were foreign born, as were 42% of those with doctorates. By contrast, across the entire U.S., natives are concentrated between those two extremes: They comprise just under a third of workers without a high-school diploma and only 28% of those with Ph.D.s.