High Skill Immigration in the Global Economy

The aim of this project is to strengthen the economic analysis of high-skilled immigration by creating a High Skill Immigration Study Group at the NBER. Specific objectives include fostering a “critical mass” of researchers working on high-skilled immigration topics drawn from labor economics, international trade, innovation/entrepreneurship, and other related fields; developing “collective goods” that will strengthen and improve research in this field, where data access has been a major hurdle for researchers; convening researchers and policy makers to discuss research on these topics in focused and dedicated sessions, and disseminating the results of research studies. This project should yield a strengthened research base on high-skilled immigration with a critical-mass of researchers working and communicating on these topics. The project will enhance understanding of issues beyond the immediate policy debates surrounding high-skilled immigration in several fields, including labor economics, public economics, industrial organization and trade and innovation policy.