In May 2016, BTI Fellow Subash Khatry of University of Houston began studying the impact of foreign-born workers, both authorized and unauthorized, on the wages of U.S. native citizens at a time when heightened discussions of immigration reform figure prominently on the national stage. A doctoral student in the UH department of economics, Khatry’s paper, titled “Effects of Immigration on Wages: A Reappraisal” analyzes U.S. census data from 1960 all the way through 2014. In order to determine the true impact of unauthorized and authorized immigrants on native U.S. American jobs, Khatry is re-estimating partial and total effects of immigrants on the wages of U.S.-born workers.
Understanding the potential implications for immigration policy in Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE), BTI is assisting Khatry with feedback and insight toward the development and progress of the study. From this research, HSE stands to gain an increased understanding of the potential substitutability between foreign-born workers and U.S.-born workers in jobs. The study will also provide a more in-depth understanding of the effects of immigration on the wages of U.S.-born workers, segmented by education level and industry groups.
Khatry plans to submit the finished research to the Journal of the European Economic Association by the end of 2016.