Research Report Understanding the Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Immigration Reform
Subtitle
A Guide to Current Studies and Possible Expansions
Maria E. Enchautegui, Stephan Lindner, Erika C. Poethig
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This report assesses six studies relevant to immigration reform debate. It examines their methods, assumptions, strengths and limitations, and creates a framework for assessing current and future research. We found that economic impact studies agree that immigration reform will increase GDP. Fiscal impact studies, which measure the effect on government outlays and revenues, agree less. Differences in findings arise from differences in scope and time; treatment of the second generation; definition of the immigration reform scenario; modeling of the current law over time; and assumptions regarding labor force, wage growth, and the number of immigrants that will attain legal status.
Research Areas Immigration
Tags Immigrants and the economy Federal, state, and local immigration and integration policy
Policy Centers Income and Benefits Policy Center Research to Action Lab