unhindered immigration and effects on US per capita GDP Peterson has just graduated from college and is now a junior member of the staff of a US senator He has been asked to draft a statement...

Peterson has just graduated from college and is now a junior

member of the staff of a US senator He has been asked to draft a statement

detailing the senator’s position on the economic growth implications of

immigration His research on the topic has uncovered the following facts

First, more than a fifth of scientists actively involved in research at the US

universities are immigrants Second, foreign-born scientists residing in the

United States write about 60 percent published research studies in the physical

sciences and about 30 percent of research publications in the life sciences

Third, nearly a forth of the founders or chief executives of US biotechnology

firms that have become publics companies since the early 1990s were born

abroad Peterson knows that in the past the senator who employs him has

generally been opposed to permitting unhindered immigration Nevertheless, the

senator also strongly favors policies that promote economic growth Peterson’s

task, given what he has learned, is to compose a draft statement reconciling

the senator’s two positions

1 Why might unhindered immigration have uncertain effects

on US per capita GDP even though immigrant scientists contribute so much to the

nation’s stock of knowledge and expertise?

2 How might Peterson draw on the insights of new growth

theory to draft a position statement ruling out unhindered immigration but

proposing greater openness to “targeted immigrants”?