1/Today's @bopinion post is about immigrants from India (and China), and why we should take in more of them! And how to do that.
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
2/First, if you haven't read this awesome paper on immigrants' economic mobility, by @leah_boustan et al., you really need to check it out:
nber.org/papers/w26408
nber.org/papers/w26408
3/Mobility from the 1st generation to the 2nd generation is higher now than it was a century ago! 
4/There are many reasons why immigrant families tend to be upwardly mobile.
5/But immigrants from some countries are INCREDIBLY mobile.
India and China rule the roost, in this regard.
India and China rule the roost, in this regard.
6/Indian mobility is especially incredible, when you realize that Indian immigrants generally are NOT handicapped by lack of English ability. Despite this lack of handicap, 2nd-generation Indian Americans still out-earn their parents by a lot.
7/Why do Indian immigrants tend to perform so incredibly well in the U.S.?
Many people will credit a culture of hard work and education, but really it's probably a selection effect.
India and China are just so amazingly HUGE that the talent pool is bottomless.
Many people will credit a culture of hard work and education, but really it's probably a selection effect.
India and China are just so amazingly HUGE that the talent pool is bottomless.
8/Indian Americans, in particular, have achieved amazing results. Even compared to other highly selected groups, they stand out.
(That's an average, of course; it clearly doesn't apply to every Indian American!)
(That's an average, of course; it clearly doesn't apply to every Indian American!)
9/Indian Americans have the highest median household income of any national ancestry group (and in fact the difference is probably greater because more established groups experience ethnic attrition).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e…
10/Indian Americans disproportionately work in STEM, but they are also incredibly successful in public service - politics and law.
forbes.com/sites/ronakdes…
forbes.com/sites/ronakdes…
14/And in business!
The CEOs of two of America's top companies, Google and Microsoft, were born in India!
The CEOs of two of America's top companies, Google and Microsoft, were born in India!
15/The point of this is NOT to say that Indian Americans are a "model minority".
It's just a selection effect. It's just due to the fact that the talent pool in India is so amazingly deep.
The point is that the U.S. should take in a lot more Indian immigrants!!
It's just a selection effect. It's just due to the fact that the talent pool in India is so amazingly deep.
The point is that the U.S. should take in a lot more Indian immigrants!!
16/Now, as things stand, because of country caps on employment-based green cards, our system is massively biased against India (and China, and Nigeria, and Indonesia, and Pakistan, and Brazil).
cato.org/blog/fairness-…
cato.org/blog/fairness-…
17/There's a bill in the works to lift the country cap, called #SB386. It's being held up by a few powerful senators.
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-re…
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-re…
18/But an even better idea is to simply INCREASE THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARDS.
The new employment-based green cards should be IN ADDITION to the current system, rather than replacing any part of it. And they shouldn't be subject to country caps!!
The new employment-based green cards should be IN ADDITION to the current system, rather than replacing any part of it. And they shouldn't be subject to country caps!!
19/The U.S. needs more immigrants from the big countries of India and China. They strengthen our country enormously. Green card expansion is the way to get them.
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bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
(end)
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
