COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: KEY ISSUES FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY

An attempt is made to model some consequences of an increase in illegal immigration into the southwestern US for domestic income distribution, on the basis of formal economic theory. Legal domestic workers who compete directly for employment with incoming illegal aliens suffer a decline in their wag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial science quarterly Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. 71 - 85
Main Authors GERKING, SHELBY D., MUTTI, JOHN H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Austin, Tex University of Texas Press 01.06.1980
University of Texas Press, in cooperation with the Southwestern Social Science Association
Subjects
Distribution/Distributions
Employment
Illegal
Illegal immigration
Immigration
Income/Incomes
Labor
Labor markets
Of General Interest
Undocumented immigrants
Unemployment
Unskilled labor
Wage rate
Wages
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Summary:An attempt is made to model some consequences of an increase in illegal immigration into the southwestern US for domestic income distribution, on the basis of formal economic theory. Legal domestic workers who compete directly for employment with incoming illegal aliens suffer a decline in their wage rate. The effects of immigration on rewards to other LF members & to owners of capital are ambiguous. However, if the reward to capital owners rises, the wage rate paid to LF members not directly competing with illegal alien workers falls, & conversely. This explains the opposed positions of employer & employee groups on proposals to further limit illegal immigration. The effect of increased illegal immigration on overall domestic welfare are also examined. If negative externalities, such as might arise through increased congestion of public service consumers, are small, then illegal immigration will have a positive welfare effect on the US. 2 Figures. Author Conclusion.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237