The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration
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The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration is a 1997 study on the demographic, economic, and fiscal consequences of immigration to the United States by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences.[1] The NRC report found that although immigrants, especially those from Latin America, were a net cost in terms of taxes paid versus social services received, overall immigration was a net economic gain due to an increase in pay for higher-skilled workers, lower prices for goods and services produced by immigrant labor, and more efficiency and lower wages for some owners of capital. The report also notes that although immigrant workers compete with domestic workers for some low skilled jobs, some immigrants specialize in activities that otherwise would not exist in an area, and thus are performing services that otherwise would not exist, and thus can be beneficial for all domestic residents.[2] U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners: Hispanic-Owned Firms: 2002 indicated that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States grew to nearly 1.6 million in 2002. Those Hispanic-owned businesses generated about $222 billion in revenue.[3] The report notes that the burden of poor immigrants is not born equally among states, and is most heavy in California.[4]
On the poor end of the spectrum, the "New Americans" report found that low-skill low wage immigration does not, on aggregate, lower the wages of most domestic workers. The report also addresses the question of if immigration affects black Americans differently from the population in general: "While some have suspected that blacks suffer disproportionately from the inflow of low-skilled immigrants, none of the available evidence suggests that they have been particularly hard-hit on a national level. Some have lost their jobs, especially in places where immigrants are concentrated. But the majority of blacks live elsewhere, and their economic fortunes are tied to other factors."[5]
In 1990 the U.S. Congress appointed a bipartisan Commission on Immigration Reform to review the nation's policies and laws and to recommend changes.[6] In turn, the commission in 1995 asked the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to convene a panel of experts to assess the demographic, economic, and fiscal consequences of immigration.
The panel was asked to lay a scientific foundation for policymaking on some specific Immigration issues. The National Academy of Sciences panels charge was to address three key questions:
- What is the effect of immigration on the future size and composition of the U.S. population?
- What is the influence of immigration on the overall economy?
- What is the fiscal impact of immigration on federal, state, and local governments?
The National Academy of Sciences report by these 15+ researchers was issued after 3 years study and called "The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration" (1997) Edited by James P. Smith and Barry Edmonston, ISBN 0-309-06356-6. The book is available on line at .