From Asia, with Skills and Aspirations | Steven Davis | Gaurav Khanna

Quick Overview

The discussion confirms that high-skilled immigration, particularly from five key Asian countries (India, China, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines), plays a significant role in US economic growth and innovation, especially in STEM fields, despite political contentiousness around immigration policy that has historically restricted this influx.

Key Points: Since 1990, high-skilled immigrants from five Asian countries (India, China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines) have been crucial drivers of US growth in software development, science, engineering, and medicine. The proportion of college-educated foreign workers in the US workforce grew substantially between 1990 and 2019, with these five countries accounting for 17% of all college-educated workers by 2019. Immigration policies, particularly visa restrictions like the H-1B cap, artificially constrain the supply of highly skilled foreign talent, leading to shortages in critical sectors like healthcare (especially in rural areas). The economic logic suggests that unrestricted flow of foreign talent would boost US innovation and economic growth, potentially creating more jobs for native-born Americans. The US educational system, particularly public funding for STEM and medical schools, has not scaled quickly enough to meet the rising domestic and foreign demand for highly skilled workers. The political narrative often focuses on high-skilled immigrants 'crowding out' native workers, but evidence suggests the opposite: these immigrants often complement domestic workers and drive significant economic benefits (like innovation and GDP growth). The challenge lies in balancing the demand for foreign talent with domestic political realities, as seen in restrictive visa policies that affect labor supply across STEM and medical fields.

Context: Steven Davis, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, interviews Gaurav Khanna, Associate Professor of Economics at UCSD and editor at the Journal of Labor Economics. The conversation centers on the significant economic contributions of high-skilled immigrants from specific Asian nations to the US economy since the 1990s, particularly in technology and medicine, and how current immigration policies affect this talent pool.