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Recruitment of Foreigners in the Market for Computer Scientists in the United States

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  • John Bound
  • Breno Braga
  • Joseph M. Golden
  • Gaurav Khanna

Abstract

We present and calibrate a dynamic model that characterizes the labor market for computer scientists. In our model, firms can recruit computer scientists from recently graduated college students, from STEM workers working in other occupations, or from a pool of foreign talent. Counterfactual simulations suggest that wages for computer scientists would have been 2.8%-3.8% higher and the number of Americans employed as computer scientists 7.0%-13.6% higher in 2004 if firms could not hire more foreigners than they could in 1994. In contrast, total computer science employment would have been 3.8%-9.0% lower and consequently output smaller.

Suggested Citation

  • John Bound & Breno Braga & Joseph M. Golden & Gaurav Khanna, 2015. "Recruitment of Foreigners in the Market for Computer Scientists in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 187-223.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/679020
    DOI: 10.1086/679020
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    Cited by:

    1. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln, 2015. "Skilled Immigration and the Employment Structures of US Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 147-186.
    2. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln, 2015. "Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 115-152.
    3. Sara Signorelli, 2020. "Too Constrained to Grow Analysis of Firms' Response to the Alleviation of Skill Shortages," PSE Working Papers halshs-02961493, HAL.
    4. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "Global Talent Flows," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 83-106, Fall.
    5. Nathan, Max, 2013. "The Wider Economic Impacts of High-Skilled Migrants: A Survey of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Baum, Christopher F & Lööf, Hans & Stephan, Andreas, 2018. "Economic impact of STEM immigrant workers," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 472, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    7. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2017. "High-Skilled Migration and Agglomeration," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 201-234, September.
    8. Mark Colas & Dominik Sachs, 2020. "The Indirect Fiscal Benefits of Low-Skilled Immigration," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 38, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    9. Max Nathan, 2014. "The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: a survey of the literature for receiving countries," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    10. William R. Kerr, 2013. "U.S. High-Skilled Immigration, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Empirical Approaches and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 19377, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Briggs Depew & Peter Norlander & Todd A. Sørensen, 2017. "Inter-firm mobility and return migration patterns of skilled guest workers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 681-721, April.
    12. Lin, Gary C., 2019. "High-skilled immigration and native task specialization in U.S. cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 289-305.
    13. Pierre Brochu & Till Gross & Christopher Worswick, 2020. "Temporary foreign workers and firms: Theory and Canadian evidence," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(3), pages 871-915, August.
    14. Murat Demirci, 2020. "International students and labour market outcomes of US‐born workers," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1495-1522, November.
    15. Tyler Ransom & John V. Winters, 2021. "Do Foreigners Crowd Natives out of STEM Degrees and Occupations? Evidence from the US Immigration Act of 1990," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(2), pages 321-351, March.
    16. Gaurav Khanna & Munseob Lee, 2019. "High-Skill Immigration, Innovation, and Creative Destruction," NBER Chapters, in: The Roles of Immigrants and Foreign Students in US Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, pages 73-98, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. John Bound & Breno Braga & Joseph M. Golden & Sarah Turner, 2013. "Pathways to Adjustment: The Case of Information Technology Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 203-207, May.
    18. Mark Colas & Dominik Sachs, 2020. "The Indirect Fiscal Benefits of Low-Skilled Immigration," CESifo Working Paper Series 8604, CESifo.
    19. Gordon H. Hanson & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2017. "High-Skilled Immigration and the Rise of STEM Occupations in US Employment," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future US GDP Growth, pages 465-494, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Ma, Jie, 2020. "High skilled immigration and the market for skilled labor: The role of occupational choice," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    21. John Bound & Murat Demirci & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2015. "Finishing Degrees and Finding Jobs: US Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign IT Workers," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 27-72.
    22. John Bound & Gaurav Khanna & Nicolas Morales, 2017. "Understanding the Economic Impact of the H-1B Program on the United States," NBER Chapters, in: High-Skilled Migration to the United States and Its Economic Consequences, pages 109-175, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Gordon H. Hanson & Chen Liu, 2017. "High-Skilled Immigration and the Comparative Advantage of Foreign-Born Workers across US Occupations," NBER Chapters, in: High-Skilled Migration to the United States and Its Economic Consequences, pages 7-40, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. John Bound & Gaurav Khanna & Nicolas Morales, 2017. "Understanding the Economic Impact of the H-1B Program on the U.S," NBER Working Papers 23153, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Hyun Lee, 2016. "Quantitative Impact of Reducing Barriers to Skilled Labor Immigration: The Case of the US H-1B Visa," Working papers 2016-35, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.

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