Read Nick Schulz's primer on skilled immigration, which explains the economic benefits from reform to the United States.
In a new report, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) DeWitt Wallace Fellow Nick Schulz explains that increasing skilled immigration can greatly benefit the American economy.
"The United States is blessed with many natural resources, but it needs more of that ultimate resource – skilled workers – if it is to thrive in the 21st century. We should welcome talented men and women from across the world to our shores."
Schulz explains that:
- Human Capital is an Immensely Valuable Commodity: Human capital in the United States, the stock of talent, intelligence, and experience, is worth more than $750 trillion compared to $70 trillion of physical and financial assets owned by Americans. Human capital is essential to economic success and increasing skilled immigration increases that supply.
- Skilled Immigrants Create New Businesses: Skilled immigrants are 30% more likely to start a business than those who are native-born.
- Bureaucratic Hassles are Causing the United States to Lose Its Edge: While the rest of the world competes to retain and attract human capital, the United States is moving backward. A little over 270,000 visas for highly skilled workers were available in 2009, down sharply from more than 301,000 visas in 2000.
Read the full report here.
Nick Schulz is the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at AEI and editor-in-chief of American.com, AEI's online magazine. He is available for interviews and can be reached at nick.schulz@aei.org.
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