Immigration and labour-market outcomes in the United States: a political-economy puzzle

Based on a larger survey of the literature (Gaston and Nelson,2000), this paper argues: (i) that econometric research uniformlyfinds very small labour-market effects of immigration; (ii)that labour and trade economists have differed in their interpretationof this finding; and (iii) that this difference is driven exclusivelyby different dimensionality assumptions (with labour economistspreferring a 1-sector x m-factor model and trade economistsan n-sector x m-factor model). It is then argued that the tradeeconomists' model, along with its presumption of factor-priceinsensitivity to immigration is the more useful as a presumptiongenerator. The paper concludes with a discussion of the political-economyimplications of these results.     

Legal versus illegal U.S. immigration and source country characteristics

"Based on micro data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on legal immigrants as well as on legalization applications that followed the passage of IRCA [the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986], this study exploits the variation in legal and illegal immigration flows across seventy source countries to examine the sensitivity of immigration flows to underlying source country characteristics. The study finds that earnings in the source country and the distance from the United States form significant deterrents of both legal and illegal immigration flows. We also find that illegal immigration is more sensitive to such factors than is legal immigration." The impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on U.S. immigration from Mexico is also assessed.     

ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION AND CHANGES IN CORPORATE CONTROL IN LATIN AMERICA

This article analyzes ownership restructuring and changes in corporate control in four large Latin American countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico—during the 1990s. Drawing on original firm‐level data, this is a comparative study aimed at identifying cross‐country differences and regularities. It focuses on transactions associated with privatizations and private mergers and acquisitions (M&As)—their evolution, relative importance, and sectoral incidence—as well as the role played by different types of investors: local, foreign, and joint ventures. A specially built database was used in the analysis, comprising 3,085 private M&As and 329 privatization transactions. Although similar to processes occurring elsewhere, it is argued that ownership restructuring in Latin America was facilitated and fostered by specific changes in policy‐associated institutional framework conditions. That is, the wide‐ranging process of ownership restructuring is strongly associated with economic liberalization, which has become the main feature of Latin American national regimes of incentives and regulation.     

A Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson Model of Immigration and Capital Transfers

Given that the flow of immigrants from a developing country to an industrialized country increases with the gap in living standards, a welfare version of a Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson model is developed in which the equilibrium level of per capita utility in the developing country is some fixed fraction of that in the industrialized country. In searching for an optimal combination of immigration to the industrial country and capital transfer to the poorer country in order to raise that country's standard of living and reduce the number of emigrants, it is found that the international optimum is a corner solution with zero immigration and a positive capital transfer.     

Arthur Lewis distinguished lecture what’s left of what’s left? or: What does it mean to be a socialist today?

After a few reminiscences about Arthur Lewis, several questions on what socialism is not about are raised. Neither public ownership, nor welfare services nor central planning are considered essential to it. The view that the distinction capitalism-socialism is obsolete is briefly discussed. It is argued that many important distinctions cut across the divide. The United States is held up as a socialist country. Changes in the socialist creed in the last century are noted. An alternative window of looking at the private-public sector distinction is discussed. And the essence of socialism as the democratization of political and civil society and private firms is advanced. A final plea for pedantic utopianism is made.     

Some neglected issues in factor proportions and ownership: An Indonesian case study

Conclusion The purpose of this article has been to examine a number of issues frequently overlooked in the large literature on factor proportions and ownership in LDC manufacturing, with reference to a rich data set from Indonesia. Substantial differences in factor proportions among ownership groups confirm the conclusions of most other studies. This paper departs from a significant portion of the general literature in four respects: it introduces a systematic decomposition technique for distinguishing between differences within industries and those arising from compositional differences; it has emphasised the importance of finely disaggregated industrial classifications, without which interfirm comparisons may generate quite misleading results; it has highlighted the need to develop more elaborate ownership definitions than the simple foreign-domestic dichotomy commonly employed; and it has cast doubt on the validity of the frequent assertion that differences in factor proportions are attributable principally to variations in relative factor prices among ownership groups. Our conclusions are inevitably restricted by the focus on just one country. However, they have some general applicability given the quality of the Indonesian data base, and the nature of its industrial policy environment - especially high manufacturing protection and a relatively liberal foreign investment code - which is replicated in other developing countries.     

劳动力所有权四题——与谢吉斌商榷

谢吉斌认为劳动力所有权是从人身权中直接分化出来的所有权,它的存在先于并决定着物质形态的所有权,这种论断是不能成立的。劳动力所有权不是从人身权中直接分化出来的,也不是先于物质形态的所有权,更不决定物质形态的所有权。     

基于结构模型的移民安置补偿满意度研究——以伊犁河谷地区为例

移民安置补偿问题是近些年的社会热点难点问题。在对工程移民进行实地调查的基础之上,基于移民视角借鉴结构方程模型和顾客满意度模型建立移民安置补偿满意度结构方程模型;通过问卷设计与实地调研收集数据,对模型进行拟合度验证;模型显示移民满意度主要受到质量感知、价值感知和移民预期的驱动,其中,价值感知和移民预期则对于移民满意度影响显著。结合分析结果提出如何改进安置补偿的对策和建议。     

Firm's choice of ownership structure: An empirical test with Korean multinationals

This paper examines the choices of ownership structure of multinational firms (MNFs) based in a newly developed country (South Korea) for their foreign affiliates. A transaction cost economics perspective is employed, taking advantage of a distinct and comprehensive firm-level data set. This is investigated as a whole-set sample of all overseas affiliates and as a sample of only partially owned affiliates using a number of analytical techniques. The paper shows that the choice of equity ownership structure is affected by the characteristics of various host countries. We find that the MNF prefers sharing control rights with a local partner when its affiliate is in a resources-based sector, when it enters a country with a large black market, or when there is large socio-cultural difference between the home and the host country.     

Strangers in a strange land: citizenship and the immigration debate in Lesotho

Lesotho, a small sovereign country located within the borders of the Republic of South Africa, displays a paradox as regards immigration. It lacks the attributes of a typical receiving country, but it has been attractive to immigrants, especially from those countries in sub-Saharan Africa which are not members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Lesotho's attraction to immigrants is explained largely by its ability to offer better remuneration for skilled workers than many non-SADC sub-Saharan African countries, and by its strategic location as an easy transit gate into South Africa, widely perceived as the ‘Europe’ of the continent. However, the influx of immigrants into Lesotho has generated a wave of anti-foreigner feelings among sections of the population and heightened the debate about the relevance of foreigners to national development. The paper reiterates the principal conventional arguments against immigration: that it compromises jobs, raises crime rates, intensifies the spread of diseases, undermines the homogeneity of the state and nation and exerts additional strain on the country's already overstretched resources. Demonstrating the limits of these arguments, the paper argues that for Lesotho, grappling with unemployment and manpower shortages, immigration is an asset rather than a liability because it creates jobs, brings in skills that are otherwise in short supply and raises the country's international profile and competitiveness.     

The choice between an international joint venture and a wholly-owned subsidiary in a developing country under technology spillover effects

A general equilibriumm model of a foreign multinational enterprise's decisions on establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary or forming a joint venture is built on firm-specific knowledge and plant-specific knowledge when there are intraindustry and interindustry technology spillovers. The welfare effects of a host developing country under closed economies, unrestricted foreign direct investment, and the policy of minimum local ownership requirements are compared. A developing country's worry is confirmed: Introduction of competition from foreign firms may not improve the welfare of the host country. However, the minimum local ownership requirement is Pareto-superior to a closed economy.     

Toward an institutional ecology of establishment of foreign firms in the Chinese construction industry

In the current study, an integration of insights from institutional theory and organization ecology is used to explain the relationship between industry-level ownership structure and the establishment of foreign invested firms in the Chinese construction industry. It is argued that in a stated-owned enterprises dominated environment, where the market forces are weak, legitimation is the major driving force harming the proliferation of foreign firms, whereas in a private-enterprise dominated environment, where the market forces are strong, competition is the major driving force inhibiting the viability of foreign firms. Thus, concentration of either state ownership, implying lower legitimation of the foreign firm form, or concentration of private ownership, triggering tough competition from domestic private firms, is hypothesized to have a negative impact on the number of foreign firms. Using a regional data set from 1994 to 2007, estimation of a cross-section–time series model largely confirms our theoretical claims.     

The Hidden Educational Costs of Intensified Immigration Enforcement

The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented increase in interior immigration enforcement that may have adversely impacted the children of unauthorized migrants—the vast majority of whom are U.S.‐born citizens. Using 2000 through 2013 data from the Current Population Survey, we gauge the impact that intensified interior immigration enforcement in the United States is having on the schooling progression of Hispanic youth with likely unauthorized parents. Intensified enforcement raises the probability of repeating a grade for children ages 6–13 by 14%, and the likelihood of dropping out of school for youth ages 14–17 by 18%. Furthermore, younger children are more responsive to police‐based enforcement, whereas older youth are more responsive to employment‐based enforcement. Awareness of the impacts that current immigration policies have on the children of immigrants is critical in informing the policy debate and in protecting the well‐being of children.     

产权制度、管理体制与收入分配的内在机理

对权力结构与收入分配内在关系与机理的分析证明,改革开放至今,国家和社会资源(包括资产和资本)在所有权、管理权和使用权之间的二次分离是我国市场经济的主导经济体制和管理模式。在这样的制度结构下,国家和社会公民的公权力与所有权被演变转化为政府行政管理权和资本控制权,即社会和市场经济活动的实际控制权。它们决定着国家资源和社会权利的初始分配,也决定着生产和社会收入的再分配。权力结构决定着分配结构,经济权利的分配是最根本的分配;强化国家公权和确定全体社会成员的民权是解决收入分配问题和实现社会稳定的必要条件;没有权力结构的平衡就不可能有收入分配的均衡。     

Immigrant Specificity and the Relationship between Trade and Immigration: Theory and Evidence

Studies routinely document that immigrant employment concentrates in non‐traded goods sectors and that many immigrants have low inter‐sectoral mobility. We consider these observed characteristics of immigrant employment with regard to the question of how immigration affects a nation's pattern of production and trade. We model an economy producing three goods; one is non‐traded. Domestic labor and capital are domestically mobile but internationally immobile. Allowing that some new immigrants will become specific to the non‐traded goods sector, the model indicates that the effects of immigration on output and trade depend importantly on the sectoral pattern of employment of both new and existing immigrants. Empirical investigation in a panel data set of OECD countries supports the model's prediction that immigration raises the output of non‐traded goods. Consistent with the model, we also find that immigration and trade are complements. Given its empirical support, the model's implications for immigration policy are then discussed.     

Black Americans’ business ownership factors: A theoretical perspective

The black American struggle in the United States continues to occur in the political, cultural and economic spheres with some measure of success. Regarding the economic sphere as the most critical because it is the source of real power in this country, and business ownership as the ultimate manifestation of economic liberation, this article examines black Americans’ business ownership and factors facilitating it. Defining successful business ownership in terms of: (1) increasing business formations by black Americans, (2) survival/longevity of the formed businesses, (3) their creation of jobs, and, (4) their profitability, this article identifies three factors facilitating it. The facilitating factor types are: (1) individual-specific, (2) group-specific, and (3) environment-consequent. It is suggested that the complex interaction of elements of these factors at any time, most likely determines the proportion of black ownership of American businesses.     

村组整合条件下农民土地所有权的效应

在农地的多元主体中,村民小组农民集体所有权曾经是我国农村集体土地所有权的主要形式。由地方政府推动的村组集体组织合并重组,使得村民小组农民集体土地所有权发生转移。目前,村组合并重组主要有三种形式:合村并组,小集体变大集体;土地股份化,集体经济组织农民继受村民小组农民集体土地所有权;双放弃,村民变市民。所有权转移对集体组织和集体组织成员会产生一些负面影响。减少农地所有权变革的制度过剩供给的根本途径在于坚持所有权转移的主体意思自治原则。     

Does Immigration Help to Explain Intra-Industry Trade? Evidence for Spain

This paper argues and provides evidence that the stock of immigrants in a country has a positive effect on the share of its bilateral intra-industry trade (IIT). The paper links the literatures about immigration and trade and about IIT determinants. The key is that immigration contributes to trade transaction costs reduction and this would benefit the trade in differentiated products, i.e. IIT, more than the trade in homogeneous products, i.e. inter-industry trade. We test this hypothesis using Spanish data and departing from the models developed by Helpman. Results are robust to different IIT measures, estimation methods and specifications. JEL no. F10, F22, F14     

Immigration,international capital flows,and long run income distribution in Canada

Conclusion This study derives long-run income distributional impacts of immigration and capital flows in a general equilibrium model of Canada. While each factor is its own enemy, results indicate that capital and skilled professional labor are enemies as well. Both of these productive inputs are friends of other labor groups, which are common enemies. Factor friendship patterns are useful in evaluating income distributional impacts of a variety of policies designed to influence the international flow of productive labor and capital.     

International factor migration and the U.S.

Conclusion The model employed is sufficiently realistic to provide conclusions regarding income distribution due to factor migration. While more disaggregation and other models would be revealing, these results correspond to observed positions on migration issues. Owners of a productive factor can be expected to favor migration policy, either the making or enforcing of laws, favorable to themselves. A factor owner's sentiments can be predicted by identifying patterns of friendship. While each productive factor is its own enemy, empirical results for the U.S. identify two pairs of enemies as well: capital/skilled and semiskilled/unskilled labor. Unskilled labor is a friend of capitalists and skilled labor, both of which can be expected to favor their free immigration.