Immigration and Its Effect on the Economy of the U.S
Immigration and Its Effect on the Economy of the U.S
The 1990s have brought the largest influx of immigrants into labor force of the
United States of any decade in this nation 's history. A panel of social science scholars concluded their assessment of U.S. society with the observation that
"America 's biggest import is people" and determined that "at a time when attention is directed to the general decline in American exceptionalism,
American immigration continues to flow at a rate unknown elsewhere in the world"
[Oxford Analytica 1986, 20]. Unlike earlier mass immigration periods to the
United States the present day wave of immigration to the U.S. show "no sign of imminent decline" [Bouvier 1991, 18]. "In today 's world setting, international migration is a discretionary action that is regulated by the specific actions of the governments of individual nation-states." There is no international obligation for any nation to allow others to enter or to work, in fact, most nations do not admit immigrants for permanent settlement
Mass immigration has played a significant role in the economic history of the
United States, nevertheless the harsh fact is that what may be necessary and beneficial at one time, may not be so at another. The demand for labor is being affected by "restructuring forces stemming from the nature and pace of technological change; from the stiff international competition the United States that now confronts for the first time in its history; from major shifts in consumer spending away from goods toward services; and from the substantial reduction In the national defense expenditures brought about by the end of the Cold War in the early 1990 's". (vernon m. briggs,jr. and stephen moore. pg 35.) In looking toward the future the twenty occupations projected to grow the fastest in the
1990s, half are related to the growing computer and health fields. The shift to a service based economy is leading to an upgrading of the skills and education
The 1990s have brought the largest influx of immigrants into labor force of the
United States of any decade in this nation 's history. A panel of social science scholars concluded their assessment of U.S. society with the observation that
"America 's biggest import is people" and determined that "at a time when attention is directed to the general decline in American exceptionalism,
American immigration continues to flow at a rate unknown elsewhere in the world"
[Oxford Analytica 1986, 20]. Unlike earlier mass immigration periods to the
United States the present day wave of immigration to the U.S. show "no sign of imminent decline" [Bouvier 1991, 18]. "In today 's world setting, international migration is a discretionary action that is regulated by the specific actions of the governments of individual nation-states." There is no international obligation for any nation to allow others to enter or to work, in fact, most nations do not admit immigrants for permanent settlement
Mass immigration has played a significant role in the economic history of the
United States, nevertheless the harsh fact is that what may be necessary and beneficial at one time, may not be so at another. The demand for labor is being affected by "restructuring forces stemming from the nature and pace of technological change; from the stiff international competition the United States that now confronts for the first time in its history; from major shifts in consumer spending away from goods toward services; and from the substantial reduction In the national defense expenditures brought about by the end of the Cold War in the early 1990 's". (vernon m. briggs,jr. and stephen moore. pg 35.) In looking toward the future the twenty occupations projected to grow the fastest in the
1990s, half are related to the growing computer and health fields. The shift to a service based economy is leading to an upgrading of the skills and education
Bibliography: Bouvier, Leon. Peaceful Invasions: Immigration and Changing America. Washington, D.C.: Center for Immigration Studies, 1991.