Immigration and Labor

Problem Set 4 (optional--can replace another problem set grade). Due: Dec 6

There is no tutorial for this problem set.

  1. Using a supply and demand graph, show how immigration is expected to affect wages and employment in the United States.
  2. Referring to the graph above, explain why Borjas says that there is no theoretical reason to expect a one-for-one decrease in employment for native workers in the U.S. as immigration takes place.
  3. In what ways does the human capital investment model explain immigration. Why do we expect that the poorest workers abroad will have difficulty emigrating to the U.S.
  4. Coyotes or labor agents sometime smuggle workers into the U.S. Once here, on occasion those workers have been held in captivity performing forced labor. Although both the smuggling and forced labor are illegal, how does human capital theory explain this phenomenon.
  5. Explain why some nations may resort to repressive measures to prevent emigration out of their country.