Working Paper: NBER ID: w12085
Authors: George J. Borjas
Abstract: The rapid growth in the number of foreign students enrolled in American universities has transformed the higher education system, particularly at the graduate level. Many of these newly minted doctorates remain in the United States after receiving their doctoral degrees, so that the foreign student influx can have a significant impact in the labor market for high-skill workers. Using data drawn from the Survey of Earned Doctorates and the Survey of Doctoral Recipients, the study shows that a foreign student influx into a particular doctoral field at a particular time had a significant and adverse effect on the earnings of doctorates in that field who graduated at roughly the same time. A 10 percent immigration-induced increase in the supply of doctorates lowers the wage of competing workers by about 3 to 4 percent. About half of this adverse wage effect can be attributed to the increased prevalence of low-pay postdoctoral appointments in fields that have softer labor market conditions because of large-scale immigration.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J23; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| 10 percent increase in the supply of foreign-born doctorates (J69) | wage decrease of approximately 3 to 4 percent for native doctorates (J39) |
| increased prevalence of low-paying postdoctoral positions (J69) | wage decrease for native doctorates (J39) |
| influx of foreign students (F22) | significant supply shock (Q31) |
| significant supply shock (Q31) | adversely affects wage structure for native-born doctorates (J79) |