This literature review concerns the impact of immigration on the economy of the host country focusing on the experience of the United States. The emphasis is on the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. The author shows that research earlier in this period generally concluded that the economic effects of immigration were positive but that more recent research on later migrations have generally concluded that immigration may be having an adverse effect on the earnings of native unskilled workers and be placing an increased burden on welfare programs. The importance of such economic analysis for the formulation of appropriate migration policies is stressed.

http://www.kleykampintaiwan.com/files/GradEco/TheEconOfImmig.pdf

The Economics of Immigration

▪ Abstract The publication of American Apartheid (Massey & Denton 1993) was influential in shifting public discourse back toward racial residential segregation as fundamental to persisting racial inequality. At the end of the twentieth century, the majority of blacks remained severely segregated from whites in major metropolitan areas. Due to the persistence of high-volume immigration, Hispanic and Asian segregation from whites has increased, although it is still best characterized as moderate. This review examines trends in the residential segregation of blacks, Hispanics, and Asians and recent research focused on understanding the causes of persisting segregation. This discussion is organized around two broad theoretical perspectives—spatial assimilation and place stratification. After detailing the consequences of segregation for affected groups, I identify gaps in our understanding and goals for future research.

The Dynamics of Racial Residential Segregation

If current trends continue the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050 from 296 million in 2005 and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants according to new projections developed by the Pew Research Center. Of the 117 million people added to the population during this period due to the effect of new immigration 67 million will be the immigrants themselves and 50 million will be their U.S.-born children or grandchildren. Among the other key population projections: Nearly one in five Americans (19%) will be an immigrant in 2050 compared with one in eight (12%) in 2005. By 2025 the immigrant or foreign-born share of the population will surpass the peak during the last great wave of immigration a century ago. The major role of immigration in national growth builds on the pattern of recent decades during which immigrants and their U.S.-born children and grandchildren accounted for most population increase. Immigrations importance increased as the average number of births to U.S.-born women dropped sharply before leveling off. (excerpt)

/pdf/u-s-population-projections-2005-2050-3n5j2l5ohd.pdf

U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050

Interracial/interethnic marriage in America is a barometer of racial/ethnic relations and intergroup social distance. Using data from the 5-percent Public Use Microdata Sample of the 1990 and 2000 censuses, we interpret trends in intermarriage in light of new assimilation theory, recent changes in racial classification, and rapid demographic changes in American society. Our results indicate that changes in marital assimilation have taken on momentum of their own; that is, America's growing biracial population has fueled the growth of interracial marriages with whites. Analyses also shed new light on the effects of rapid immigration, rising cohabitation, and educational upgrading on intermarriage patterns, and yield both continuities and departures from the past. Historic patterns of racial/ethnic differences in intermarriage persist—Hispanics and American Indians are most likely to marry whites, followed closely by Asian Americans. African Americans are least likely to marry whites. Yet, the 1990s brought...

Social Boundaries and Marital Assimilation: Interpreting Trends in Racial and Ethnic Intermarriage

United Nations Population Division

/pdf/new-marriages-new-families-u-s-racial-and-hispanic-3xf6h8jfp1.pdf

New Marriages, New Families: U.S. Racial and Hispanic Intermarriage

Authors from numerous disciplines assess the integration of recent immigrants in the context of their ethnic background and note the lessons that their adjustment, or lack thereof, provides for immigration policy. Topics include race and ethnic trends in U.S. immigration, incorporation of Hispanic and Asian immigrants, the comparative earnings of immigrant men, secondary immigration patterns of legalized aliens, and an overview of U.S. immigration policy.

Immigration and Ethnicity: The Integration of America's Newest Arrivals@@@Reshaping Ethnic and Racial Relations in Philadelphia: Immigrants in a Divided City@@@Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in Urban America: Status and Prospects for Politics and Activism

Canada was settled by immigrants, including Aboriginal peoples who arrived thousands of years ago, French and British settlers who first began arriving in the 1600s, and people from many other nations who have migrated in the past four centuries.  Now, almost 150 years since the Confederation of Canada in 1867, immigrants number 6.8 million and comprise 20 percent of the total population in 2011.  Canada’s population has completed the demographic transition from high mortality and fertility to relatively low vital rates, but accompanied by continued, fluctuating international migration.  Canada’s population reflects this fertility and mortality history, as well as the effects of international migration. Immigration has increased in significance in recent decades as one of the key factors influencing population change. This paper examines Canada’s trends and patterns in international migration.

/pdf/canada-s-immigration-trends-and-patterns-19eawy97mb.pdf

Canada's Immigration Trends and Patterns

Age-at-arrival is a key predictor of many immigrant outcomes, but discussion continues over how to best measure and study its effects This research replicates and extends a pioneering study by Myers, Gao, and Emeka [International Migration Review (2009) 43:205-229] on age-at-arrival effects among Mexican immigrants in the US to see if similar results hold for other immigrant groups and in other countries We examine data from the 2000 US census and 2006 American Community Survey, and 1991, 2001, and 2006 Canadian censuses to assess several measures of age-at-arrival effects on Asian immigrants' socioeconomic outcomes We confirm several of Myers et al's key findings, including the absence of clear breakpoints in age-at-arrival effects for all outcomes and the superiority of continuous measures of age-at-arrival Additional analysis reveals different age-at-arrival effects by gender and Asian ethnicity We suggest guidelines, supplementing those offered by Myers et al, for measuring and studying age-at-arrival's effects on immigrant outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barry Edmonston

Papers

New Marriages, New Families: U.S. Racial and Hispanic Intermarriage

Immigration and Ethnicity: The Integration of America's Newest Arrivals@@@Reshaping Ethnic and Racial Relations in Philadelphia: Immigrants in a Divided City@@@Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in Urban America: Status and Prospects for Politics and Activism

Canada's Immigration Trends and Patterns

Age-at-Arrival’s Effects on Asian Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Outcomes in Canada and the U.S.†

Immigration and immigrant generations in population projections.