Immigrants to the US today move up the economic ladder and engage in cultural assimilation at the same pace as immigrants during the Ellis Island generation. What's more, the children of immigrants experience rapid social mobility, even if their parents hailed from poor countries. So, why are prospects for immigration reform so dim?
This lecture will trace out more than a century of political attitudes toward immigration, documenting that attitudes were staunchly anti-immigration from 1870 to 1950.
Views about immigration shifted rapidly between 1950 and 1965 and remain pro-immigration -- albeit divided by political party -- today. Textual analysis reveals that the partisan divide on immigration is driven by concerns about crime and legality on one side, and positive narratives about refugees in need of assistance on the other. We turn to the data and find that: (a) there was never a time in US history when immigrants were more likely to be incarcerated than the US-born, and (b) helping refugees can be a win-win proposition.
The Royal Economic Society is one of the oldest and most prestigious economic associations in the world. It is a learned society, founded in 1890 to promote the study of economic science.
Find out more by visiting www.res.org.uk or on twitter @RoyalEconSoc
19 фев 2024
