Working Paper: NBER ID: w3691
Authors: George J. Borjas
Abstract: Over 12 million persons migrated to Canada or the United States between 1959 and 1981. Beginning in the mid?1960s, the immigration policies of the two countries began to diverge considerably: the United States stressing family reunification and Canada stressing skills. This paper shows that the point system used by Canada generated, on average, a more skilled immigrant flow than that which entered the United States. This skill gap, however, is mostly attributable to differences in the national origin mix of the immigrant flows admitted by the two countries. In effect, the point system "works" because it alters the national origin mix of immigrant flows, and not because it generates a more skilled immigrant flow from a given source country.
Keywords: immigration policy; national origin; immigrant skills; Canada; United States
JEL Codes: J61; J68
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Immigration policy type (family reunification vs. skills-based) (J68) | national origin mix of immigrants (J69) |
| Immigration policy type (family reunification vs. skills-based) (J68) | average skill level of immigrants (J61) |
| point system in Canada alters national origin mix of immigrants (K37) | average skills of foreign-born workers in Canada (J61) |
| national origin mix of immigrants (J69) | average skill level of immigrants (J61) |