Economic Development to What Extent

¶ … Economic Development

To what extent was U.S. economic development affected by immigration (legal and illegal) between 2009 and 2010?

Over the last several years, the issue of immigration and its effects on the country have been continually brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because a number of conflicting events have been occurring. Where, globalization and the desire for maintaining low prices have meant that immigrants play a vital role in the U.S. economy. Evidence of this can be seen with comments from Giovani Perri of the San Francisco Federal Reserve. Who said, "Statistical analysis of state-level data shows that immigrants expand the economy's productive capacity by stimulating investment and promoting specialization. This produces efficiency gains and boosts income per worker. At the same time, evidence is scant that immigrants diminish the employment opportunities of U.S.-born workers."

This is important, because it shows the impact that immigration has been having on long-term economic growth of the nation. However, other situations have been occurring, that are causing many people to begin to question the actual benefits of migrants. Where, many immigrants (especially illegal) will come to the U.S., commit crimes, and then they will be deported back to their home country (with nothing more than a slap on the wrist).

This has angered many citizens and lawmakers, who feel powerless to stop the illegal immigrants from doing what they want. As a result, Arizona has passed a controversial new law that gives the police the power to: question and detain illegal immigrants. This is significant, because it shows the overall amounts of frustration that some people are feeling. As they see immigrants as nothing more than a drag on the economy and various social infrastructure.

Then, when you combine this with the fact that many are breaking the law, this only adds to the underlying amounts of anger. To determine which views are most accurate we will examine the short and long terms effects that immigration are having on the U.S. economy.

Introduction

Since the 19th century, the United States has been one of the places where immigrants will go to, seeking out economic prosperity and a new life. As time went by, an increasing number of immigrants would begin coming to the country for a host of reasons. In some cases, these people were immigrating lawfully, while others were entering the nation illegally. This is in response to the demand for their services and the economic benefits that they provide to communities. At the same time, each person has the ability to experience some form of economic upward mobility. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than a study that was conducted by the National Venture Capital Association. Where, they found that 25% of all venture capital backed projects were established by immigrants. In the technology sector, this number is as high as 40%. This is significant, because it shows the total contributions that immigrants are making to the economy over the long-term. With a number of the top technology companies having organizers who were born outside of the U.S. To include: Google, Yahoo and EBay. (Hausen, 2010) What this shows, is the total contribution of immigrants to the economy is considerable. As they are playing a part, in helping redefine the way everyone lives their daily lives. To fully understand this role requires examining how economic development has been influenced by immigration. This will take place by conducting