tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post6208949442325166206..comments2024-01-10T17:36:15.040-07:00Comments on The Lippard Blog: Immigration and jobsLippardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-83921008435819425072009-03-23T15:38:00.000-07:002009-03-23T15:38:00.000-07:00jackd, your argument is flawed.How is it not benef...jackd, your argument is flawed.<BR/><BR/>How is it not beneficial to increase the pool of available workers for a given position? More applicants translates to greater opportunity for the employer to find a more highly skilled and/or cheaper employee. This in turn leads to greater profitability and/or cheaper prices for the firm's customers.<BR/><BR/>If the hiring of an H-1B employee doesn't pencil then it doesn't happen.Einzigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06406227217230727209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-78130490530879388112009-03-23T15:37:00.000-07:002009-03-23T15:37:00.000-07:00"only about only 20% of H-1B's were granted to hol..."only about only 20% of H-1B's were granted to holders of professional or doctoral degrees, the ones I would expect produce most of the patent activity that Kerr and Lincoln studied was generated by PhD's."<BR/><BR/>Speaking as a patent co-inventor with an M.A., do you have any evidence for this assumption? My speculation is that named inventors and co-inventors on patents are far more likely to hold a Master's degree than a doctorate for the same reason that average salaries for those holding a master's degree are greater than those for Ph.D.s--the latter are more likely to be in academia than in business.Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-24868575585859020672009-03-23T14:43:00.000-07:002009-03-23T14:43:00.000-07:00The article, and presumably the underlying researc...The article, and presumably the underlying research, does support the idea that immigration positively correlates with innovation. But it does not address the question of whether the H-1B program is being used primarily to fill positions for which there's a shortage of US talent (as intended) or if employers are gaming the system to hold down salaries and get employees they have additional leverage over.<BR/><BR/>A quick Google search turned up http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/FY03H1BFnlCharRprt.pdf. It shows that only about only 20% of H-1B's were granted to holders of professional or doctoral degrees, the ones I would expect produce most of the patent activity that Kerr and Lincoln studied was generated by PhD's. That leaves over 170,000 visa holders with Master's degrees or less.<BR/><BR/>So, H-1B immigrants promote innovation? I'll buy that, at least if we're talking about research scientists. But that's a long way from establishing that it's beneficial to import system admins and DBAs because US citizens won't take the jobs at $50k/year.jackdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15113600776477358833noreply@blogger.com