Professor Giovanni Peri of UC Davis suggests that a one percentage point increase in skilled immigration as a share of total employment boosts wages for both skilled and unskilled native workers by seven and three percentage points respectively.
As Peri explained in an interview with the HPR, “because [high-skilled immigrants] increase the size of the pie by creating higher productivity in companies, they increase the opportunities for American workers to be hired in other types of functions and jobs created by those companies.” Essentially, foreign skilled laborers increase the demand for American workers.
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