莫卡特斯中心-移民對創(chuàng)業(yè)和創(chuàng)新的影響（英文）-2021.5-23正式版

TheEffectsofImmigrationonEntrepreneurshipandInnovation

RobertKrol

MERCATUSWORKINGPAPER

AllstudiesintheMercatusWorkingPaperserieshavefollowedarigorousprocessofacademicevaluation,including(exceptwhereotherwisenoted)atleastonedouble-blindpeerreview.WorkingPaperspresentanauthor’sprovisionalfindings,which,uponfurtherconsiderationandrevision,arelikelytoberepublishedinanacademicjournal.TheopinionsexpressedinMercatusWorkingPapersaretheauthors’anddonotrepresentofficialpositionsoftheMercatusCenterorGeorgeMasonUniversity.

RobertKrol,“TheEffectsofImmigrationonEntrepreneurshipandInnovation.”WorkingPaper,MercatusCenteratGeorgeMasonUniversity,Arlington,VA,May2021.

Abstract

Thispaperreviewsevidenceabouttheeffectsofimmigrationonentrepreneurshipandinnovation.ThenumberofimmigrantshasincreasedbothinabsolutenumbersandasashareoftheUSpopulation.ThecountriesoforiginhaveshiftedfromEuropetoLatinAmericaandAsia.Theshareofhigher-skilledimmigrantshasrisen,whiletheshareoflower-skilledimmigrantshasdeclined.ImmigrantstendtobeentrepreneurialandtostartasignificantshareofUSbusinesses.ThosenewfirmsmakeasignificantcontributiontoemploymentgrowthintheUnitedStates.Researchindicatesthatimmigrantstendtobeinnovative.Thisfindingispartiallytheresultofalargepercentageofimmigrantswithscience,technology,engineering,andmath(STEM)degrees.TheshareofUSpatentsgoingtoimmigrantshassignificantlyincreasedovertime.Immigrantinventorsareacomplementtonativeinventors,thusraisingtotalproductivityovertime.

JELcodes:J6,03

Keywords:immigration,entrepreneurship,innovation

AuthorAffiliationandContactInformation

RobertKrol

SeniorAffiliatedScholar

MercatusCenter

GeorgeMasonUniversity

Arlington,VA22201

ProfessorEmeritusofEconomics

CaliforniaStateUniversity,Northridge

Northridge,CA91330-8374

?2021byRobertKrolandtheMercatusCenteratGeorgeMasonUniversity.

Thispapercanbeaccessedat

/publications/immigration/what-do-we-know

-about-impact-im.

TheEffectsofImmigrationonEntrepreneurshipandInnovation

RobertKrol

Economicgrowthinadvancedeconomiesisdrivenprimarilybyinnovationsthatimprove

productivity.1Entrepreneursandresearchers,whoaremotivatedbyeconomicincentives,

generatenewideasthatresultineitherneworexpandedbusinesses.Theresulting

expansionofbusinessesgeneratesnewandbetterproductsandservices.Entrepreneursalso

changethewayproductionisorganizedbecausetheyimproveefficiencythatlowersprices

forconsumers.Suchactionsproduceeconomicgrowth,whichmanifestsitselfbyincreasing

productvariety,jobs,andwages.Asaresult,economicwell-beingincreases.2

Immigrantentrepreneursplayaroleintheeconomicgrowthprocess.Higherlevelsof

immigrationwerefoundtoincreaseeconomicgrowththroughanimmigrant’sproductive

skillsandinnovation-relatedactivities.3Immigrantsarealsocapturingalargerpercentage

PaulM.Romer,“EndogenousTechnologicalChange,”JournalofPoliticalEconomy98,no.2(1990):S71–S102;CharlesI.Jones,“R&D–BasedModelsofEconomicGrowth,”JournalofPoliticalEconomy103,no.4(1995):759–84;UfukAkcigitandWilliamKerr,“GrowththroughHeterogeneousInnovations,”JournalofPoliticalEconomy126,no.4(2018):1374–443.Advancedeconomieshavehighlevelsofphysicalandhumancapital,whichresultsinhigherstandardsofliving,andthoseeconomiescanalsopromoteeconomicgrowth.Beingmostlymarket-orientedeconomies,theytendtooperateatarelativelyhighlevelofefficiency.CharlesI.Jones,“TheFactsofEconomicGrowth,”inHandbookofMacroeconomics,ed.JohnTaylorandMichaelWoodford(Amsterdam:ElsevierB.V.,2016).

DeirdreN.McCloskey,BourgeoisEquality:HowIdeas,NotCapitalorInstitutions,EnrichedtheWorld

(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2016)alsostressestheimportantrolethatideasplayineconomicprosperityfromaneconomichistoryperspective.

FrancescOrtegaandGiovanniPeri,“OpennessandIncome:TheRolesofTradeandImmigration,”JournalofInternationalEconomics92,no.2(2014):231–51.

3

ofpatentsintheUnitedStates.4Inaddition,immigrantscontributetonewbusinesses,and

theytendtobemoreentrepreneurialthantheaverageUScitizen.5

Immigrationiscontroversialbecausepeoplehavedifferingviewsabouttheeffectsthat

immigrantshaveontheeconomyandculture.6SomeUScitizensareconcernedthatthe

increaseinimmigrationmaychangethecountry’snationalidentity.Othersview

immigrantsasbeingsimilartothemselves.Immigrantsarepeopletryingtoimprovetheir

lifeandeconomiccircumstances.Politicalrhetoricintensifiessuchdifferences,thereby

makingimmigrationreformlesslikely.

Alookatpollingdataprovidesasenseofthedivergentviewsthatindividualshaveon

immigration.PollingdataintheUnitedStatessuggestthatpeoplearegenerallydivided

overtheeffectsofimmigrantsonthecountry.

A2020CBSNewspollasked,“Generally,doyouthinkimmigrantscomingtothe

UnitedStatesmakeAmericansocietybetterinthelongrun,makeAmericansocietyworse

inthelongrun,oryoudon’tthinkimmigrantscomingtotheU.S.havemuchofaneffect

onAmericansocietyonewayortheother?”Amongrespondents,55percentsaidbetter,16

percentsaidworse,and20percentsaiditdidnothavemucheffect.7

WilliamR.Kerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent:HowMigrationShapesBusiness,Economy&Society(StanfordBusinessBooks,Stanford,CA,2019).

Kerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent.

Thispaperfocusesontheeconomicratherthantheculturaleffectsofimmigration.Althoughitisunlikelythatcultureandtheeconomyareunrelated,thereisevidencethatculturaldiversity,whenmeasuredbythediversityofacountry’simmigrants,raisesnativewagesandtherentalvalueofhomes.GianmarcoI.P.

OttavianoandGiovanniPeri,“TheEconomicValueofCulturalDiversity:EvidencefromU.S.Cities,”

JournalofEconomicGeography6,no.1(2006):9–44.

CBSNewspolltakenfromPollingR,.

4

A2020Galluppollaskedthequestion,“Inyourview,shouldimmigrationbekeptat

itspresentlevel,increased,ordecreased?”Amongrespondents,36percentwantedtokeepit

atthepresentlevel,34percentthoughtitshouldincrease,and28percentwantedit

decreased.Whereasresponseshavefluctuatedovertime,thepercentageofpeoplewho

thinkthelevelofimmigrationshouldbeincreasedequaledonly7percentintheearliestpoll

takenin1965.Respondentswhothoughtitshouldbekeptatthesamelevelordecreased

declinedoverthesameperiodsuggesting,atleastuntilrecently,thatimmigrationappeared

tobeviewedmorefavorably.8

ThosepollssuggestthatpeopleintheUnitedStatesaredividedaboutthecostsand

benefitsofimmigration.UScitizensshouldkeepinmindthatimmigrants,especiallyhigh-

skilledones,startnewbusinessesandplayanimportantroleintechnologicalinnovation—

bothofwhichhelpcreatejobsandraisewagesforeveryone.Immigrantshelpprovide

importantservicessuchasinhealthcare.9Thenetbenefitsofimmigrationpromote

economicgrowthandwell-being,thusexpandingopportunitiesforbothimmigrantsand

native-bornpopulationsintheUnitedStates.

Tobetterunderstandtheeffectsofimmigrationontheeconomy,thispaperwill

providebasicdataaboutimmigrationtrendsintheUnitedStates.Themainbodyofthe

paperwillreviewtheevidencefromstudiesthatexaminetheeffectsofimmigrationon

entrepreneurshipandinnovation.

Gallup,“Immigration,”/poll/1660/immigration.aspx.

ForadiscussionoftheroleofimmigrantsindevelopingCOVIDvaccines,seeScottLincicome,“TheCOVIDVaccinesAreaTriumphofGlobalization,”commentary,December8,2020,CatoInstitute,/publications/commentary/covid-vaccines-are-triumph-globalization.

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ImmigrantsintheUnitedStates

ImmigrantsarepeoplelivingintheUnitedStateswhowerenotUScitizensatbirth.10Table

1providesdataaboutthetotalnumberofimmigrants(measuredinthousands).Italso

expressesthenumberasapercentageofUSpopulationbetween1960and2019.Both

measureshaveincreasedsignificantlyovertheperiod.

Table1.TotalImmigrants(inthousands)

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2019

Numberofimmigrants

9,738

9,619

14,080

19,767

31,108

39,956

39,463

PercentageofUSpopulation

5.4

4.7

6.2

7.9

11.1

12.9

13.7

Note:Thenumberofimmigrantsismeasuredinthousands.

Source:MigrationPolicyInstituteDataHub,/programs/data-hub/us-

immigration-trends#history.

Table2providesabreakdownofimmigrationdatabycountryoforigin.Foreach

country,ifitwasinthetop10(byamount)fortheyearsbetween1960and2019,thetable

liststhepercentageoftotalimmigrantsfromthatcountryinthatyear.Fortheyearsin

whichthecountrywasnotinthetop10,nodataarereported.Morethan10countriesare

listedbecauseovertime,countriesinthetop10inearlyyearsdropoutandnewcountries

enterthetop10.Twotrendsareapparent.First,Europeancountriesmakeupalarger

portionofsourcecountriesintheearlieryearsbutnotinlateryears.Second,theshareof

totalimmigrantsfromAsia,CentralAmerica,andSouthAmericahasincreasedovertime.

Unsurprisingly,Mexicocapturesthelargestsharebyfarin1980andbeyond.

ThisdefinitionincludesnaturalizedUScitizens,green-cardholders,refugees,asylees,temporary-visaholders,andunauthorizedpersons.

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Table2.CountryofOrigin—DataAvailablefortheTop10EachColumn

Country

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2019

Austria

3.1

2.2

—

—

—

—

—

Canada

9.8

8.4

6.0

3.8

2.6

—

—

China

—

—

—

2.7

3.2

4.0

5.3

Cuba

—

4.6

4.3

3.7

2.8

2.8

3.1

DominicanRepublic

—

—

—

—

—

2.2

2.5

ElSalvador

—

—

—

—

2.7

3.0

3.1

Germany

10.2

8.7

6.0

3.6

2.3

—

—

Guatemala

—

—

—

—

—

2.1

2.2

Hungary

2.5

—

—

—

—

—

—

India

—

—

—

—

3.3

4.5

6.1

Ireland

3.5

2.6

—

—

—

—

—

Italy

12.9

10.5

5.9

2.9

—

—

—

RepublicofKorea

—

—

2.1

2.9

2.8

2.8

2.4

Mexico

5.9

7.9

15.6

21.7

29.5

29.3

25.0

Philippines

—

—

3.6

4.6

4.4

4.4

4.7

Poland

7.7

5.7

3.0

—

—

—

—

SovietUnion/Russia

7.1

4.8

2.9

—

—

—

—

UnitedKingdom

8.6

7.1

4.8

3.2

—

—

—

Vietnam

—

—

—

2.7

3.2

3.1

3.2

Other

28.8

37.5

45.9

48.1

43.3

41.8

42.4

Notes:

Eachnumberisacountry’spercentageoftheimmigrantpopulationintheUnitedStatesinaparticularyear.Thecountriesarelistedinalphabeticalorder.Morethan10countriesarelistedbecause,overtime,somecountriesfalloutandsomeareaddedtothetop10inaparticularyearbecauseofdifferentimmigrantflows.

—=notapplicable.

Source:MigrationPolicyInstituteDataHub,

USImmigrationTrends,|

.

Table3providestheeducationalattainmentlevelforimmigrantsfrom10countries

withthelargestshareofimmigrationin2019.PanelAlooksatallimmigrants,whereas

panelBlooksatthesamegroupofcountriesbutforalltheimmigrantswhocametothe

UnitedStatesafter2013.TheskilldistributionofimmigrantstendstohaveaUshape.Skill

levelsconcentrateatthehighandlowendsofthedistribution.Wecanseethis

concentrationintable3.Icalculatethat,forallimmigrantsbetween1960and2019,26.3

percenthadfewerthan12yearsofeducation,whereas32.7percenthadabachelor’sdegree

ormore(panelA).Forcomparison,in2019,36.3percentofnative-bornUScitizenshada

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bachelor’sdegreeormore,and6.7percenthadnotgraduatedfromhighschool.Those

percentageschangeforthemorerecentimmigrants:18.6percenthavefewerthan12years

ofeducationwhereas47.9percenthaveabachelor’sdegreeormore(panelb).Theskillmix

ofimmigrantsasmeasuredbyeducationlevelhaschanged,withfewerunskilledworkers

andmoreskilledworkers.

Table3.ImmigrantEducationalAttainment2019

Country

Lessthan9th

9th–12thgrade

Highschool

Somecollegeor

Bachelor’sdegree

grade(%)

(%)

diploma(%)

associatedegree(%)

orhigher(%)

PanelA

China

12.5

7.5

16.5

12.3

51.2

Cuba

11.6

12.1

31.0

20.8

24.4

Dominican

18.8

12.5

30.0

22.6

16.1

Republic

ElSalvador

33.1

16.6

26.6

15.0

8.7

Guatemala

43.2

12.9

22.5

14.1

7.4

India

3.1

3.5

6.8

7.1

79.5

Korea

4.5

3.4

17.7

18.8

55.6

Mexico

34.6

18.0

26.0

13.6

7.8

Philippines

4.1

3.1

15.2

27.2

50.4

Vietnam

17.2

11.1

23.0

21.5

27.2

NativeBorn

1.5

5.2

28.7

28.2

36.3

PanelB

China

8.3

4.7

15.1

10.7

61.2

Cuba

5.8

10.8

37.4

14.5

31.5

Dominican

16.0

11.7

32.8

20.5

18.9

Republic

ElSalvador

33.2

16.0

25.8

13.7

11.3

Guatemala

49.9

10.9

21.8

10.5

6.9

India

3.0

2.7

5.0

3.6

85.7

Korea

3.2

0.8

6.7

12.4

76.9

Mexico

27.7

17.8

25.2

10.6

18.7

Philippines

3.7

2.5

17.6

23.3

52.8

Vietnam

16.4

12.3

32.1

15.0

24.3

Note:Thecountriesarelistedinalphabeticalorder.Eachentrymeasurestheeducationalattainmentasapercentageofthatcountry’simmigrantsintheUnitedStates.PanelAisforalladults(ages25andolder)residingintheUnitedStates.PanelBisforadults(ages25andolder)whoarrivedintheUnitedStatesinthepastfiveyears.

Sources:MigrationPolicyInstituteDataHub,

USImmigrationTrends

;native-borndatafromtheUSCensusBureau,/content/census/en/data/tables/2019/demo/educational-attainment/cps-detailed-tables.html.

8

Morethan85percentofrecentimmigrantsfromIndiahaveabachelor’sdegreeor

more.OthercountriesthatprovidealargepercentageofskilledlaborincludeChinaandthe

Philippines.Moreover,Guatemala,Mexico,Vietnam,andtheDominicanRepublicprovide

thelargestsharesofunskilledlabor.

Thenumberofimmigrantshasincreasedbothinabsolutenumbersandasashareof

theUSpopulation.Moreover,thecountriesoforiginhaveshiftedfromEuropetoLatin

AmericaandAsia.Theshareofhigher-skilledimmigrantshasrisen,whiletheshareof

lower-skilledimmigrantshasdeclined.

ImmigrationandEntrepreneurship

DataindicatethegrowthinentrepreneurshipintheUnitedStatesisslowing.Deckeretal.

reportthatinrecentdecadesthetrendhasbeendownwardinthegrowthofbusiness

startupsintheUnitedStates.11Thedeclinehasacceleratedsince2000.Onewaytooffset

thisgrowthtrendistoexpandimmigration,especiallyamonghigher-skilledentrepreneurial

immigrants.12

Deckeretal.foundthatbetween1980and2010grossjobcreationaveraged

approximately18percentoftheworkforce,orabout2.9millionjobsannually.Netjob

RyanDecker,JohnHaltiwanger,RonJarmin,andJavierMiranda,“TheRoleofEntrepreneurshipinUSJobCreationandEconomicDynamism,”JournalofEconomicPerspectives28,no.3(2014):3–24;CongressionalBudgetOffice,FederalResponsestoDecliningEntrepreneurship,December29,2020.

SariPekkalaKerrandWilliamKerr,“ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipinAmerica:EvidencefromtheSurveyofBusinessOwners,2007&2012,”ResearchPolicy49,no.3(2020):1–18;Kerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent.

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creationforstartupfirmswasalso2.9millionperyear.13Theyalsofoundthatstartupsize

hasnotincreased.

Fairlie,Miranda,andZolasfoundthattheaveragenumberofstartupsbetween1995

and2010was5.4millionperyear.14Thisnumberrepresentsabout25percentofthetotal

businessesintheUnitedStates.Suchstartupscreateabout3millionjobsintheirstartup

yearandemploy2.9millionworkersfiveyearslater.Thisfigureiscomparablewiththose

reportedinDeckeretal.Theemploymentgrowthofthesurvivingfirmsmorethanoffsets

thejoblosesoffirmsthatexit.Infact,withouttheadditionaljobs,aggregateemployment

growthintheUnitedStateswouldhavebeennegativeduringthisperiod.

ImmigrantstendtobemoreentrepreneurialthandoestheaverageUScitizen.15They

apparentlyaremoremobileandappeartobewillingtotakeonmorerisk.Thedifference

canbeexplainedpartlybythefactthatanindividual’sdecisiontoemigrateisrisky,much

likestartinganewbusiness.Immigrants,bytheirnature,appeartobemoretolerantofrisk.

Immigrantsmayalsobemorelikelytostarttheirownbusinessbecausetheyinitially

mayfacediscriminationinthelabormarket.16Thegrowingpercentageofimmigrantswith

Deckeretal.,“TheRoleofEntrepreneurship.”O(jiān)nereasonisthatastartupfirmhasnotlostanyjobsinthepast,sogrossandnetjobcreationwillbethesame.Becausetheentireprivatesector’snetjobcreationis1.4millionperyear,olderfirmsmusthaveexperiencednegativenetjobcreation.

RobertW.Fairlie,JavierMiranda,andNikolasZolas,“JobCreationandSurvivalamongEntrepreneurs:EvidencefromtheUniverseofU.S.Startups”(WorkingPaper,UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz,2018);RobertW.Fairlie,JavierMiranda,andNikolasZolas,“MeasuringJobCreation,Growth,andSurvivalamongtheUniverseofStart-upsintheUnitedStatesUsingaCombinedStart-upPanelDataSet,”IndustrialandLaborRelationsReview72,no.5(2019):1262–77.

KerrandKerr,“ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipinAmerica.”

JenniferHuntandMarjolaineGauthier-Loiselle,“HowMuchDoesImmigrationBoostInnovation?”

AmericanEconomicJournal:Macroeconomics2,no.2(2010):31–56;JenniferHunt,“WhichImmigrantsAre

MostInnovativeandEntrepreneurial?”JournalofLaborEconomics29,no.3(2011):417–57.

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collegedegreesinSTEMfieldsmaymakethemmoreinclinedtodevelopnewproductsand

tostartbusinessesthanistheaverageUScitizen.17

Tworecentpapersprovideevidenceaboutthisissue.Azoulayetal.usedatafromthe

USCensustoexaminebusinessstartupsfortheperiod2005to2010.18Theyfoundthatthe

firmcountpercapitaforimmigrantsishigherthanfornativesatallfirmsizes.Usingthe

CensusBureau’sSurveyofBusinessOwnersfor2012,theauthorsfoundthat7.25percent

ofimmigrantsstartfirmscomparedwith4.03percentofnatives,nearly80percenthigher.

Wagesatimmigrantfirmsare0.7percenthigherthanatfirmscreatedbynatives.Those

immigrant-foundedfirmsarealso35percentmorelikelytohaveapatent.Lookingat

Fortune500businesses,immigrantshavestartedmoresuccessfulbusinessesthanhave

natives.

KerrandKerrusedtheCensusBureau’sSurveyofBusinessOwnersandits

LongitudinalBusinessDatabasefortheperiod2008to2012toexamineimmigrant

entrepreneurship.19Theyfoundthatfirst-andsecond-generationimmigrantscreated

approximately40percentoftheFortune500companies.Theyalsofoundthatfirst-

generationimmigrantscreated25percentofallnewfirmsintheUnitedStatesoverthe

Kerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent;KerrandKerr,“ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipinAmerica”;J.DavidBrown,JohnS.Earle,MeeJungKim,andKyungMinLee,“ImmigrantEntrepreneursandInnovationintheU.S.High-TechSector”(NBERWorkingPaper25565,NationalBureauofEconomicResearch,Cambridge,MA,2019);PierreAzoulay,BenjaminF.Jones,J.DanielKim,andJavierMiranda,“ImmigrationandEntrepreneurshipintheUnitedStates”(NBERWorkingPaper27778,NationalBureauofEconomicResearch,Cambridge,MA,2020).

Azoulay,Jones,Kim,andMiranda,“ImmigrationandEntrepreneurshipintheUnitedStates.”

KerrandKerr,“ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipinAmerica.”

11

periodexamined.20TheKerrandKerrsampleincludestheGreatRecessionof2008.There

isevidencethatstartupsincreaseduringrecessionsasunemployedworkerswithlimitedjob

prospectsaremorelikelytotrystartingabusinessasanalternativecareeroptionunder

thoseconditions.21

Startupbusinesssurvivalratestendtobepro-cyclical,whichmeanssurvivalratestend

todeclineduringrecessionsandriseduringexpansions.AccordingtotheKauffman

Foundation,since2012,survivalratesforallstartupshavebeenstable,fluctuatingbetween

79.2and79.7percent.Thesurvivalrateduring2009,duringtheGreatRecession,equaled

75.3percent.22

EconomistWilliamKerruseddatafromtheUSCensusBureau’sLongitudinal

Employer-HouseholdDynamicsdatabasetotrackimmigrantentrepreneurshipbetween

1995and2008.23Thedatatrackedthreedifferenttrends,andfigure1illustratesthe

findings.First,thenewfirmshareofallemployeeswhoareimmigrantsincreasedfrom16.7

percentin1995to25.6percentin2008.Second,theshareofentrepreneurswhoare

immigrantshasrisenfrom20.6percentto27.1percentovertheperiod.Finally,theshareof

newfirmswithatleastoneimmigrantentrepreneurhasgrownfrom31.1percentin1995to

37.0percentin2008.Thesedatashowthatimmigrantsareplayingagrowing

ThisfigureissignificantlydifferentfromwhatAzoulay,Jones,Kim,andMirandafound(7.25percent)becauseAzoulayetal.’sfigureisthestartuprateamongthepopulationofimmigrants,whereastheKerrandKerr(25percent)isthefigureshareoffirmsbyimmigrants.

RobertW.Fairlie,“Entrepreneurship,EconomicConditions,andtheGreatRecession,”JournalofEconomics&ManagementStrategy22,no.2(2013):207–31.

RobertW.FairlieandSameekshaDesai,“2019Early-StageEntrepreneurshipintheUnitedStates,”nationalandstatereport,June2020,EwingMarionKauffmanFoundation,KansasCity,KS.Theydonotprovidesurvivalratesforimmigrantstartups.

Kerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent.

12

entrepreneurialroleintheUSeconomybystartingnewbusinesses.Theyalsocapturea

largershareofemploymentinnewfirms.

Figure1.ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipintheUnitedStates,1995–2008

ImmigrantpercentageofnewUSfirms

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

Shareofnewfirmswithatleastoneimmigrantentrepreneur

Shareofentrepreneurswhoareimmigrants

Shareofallemployeesinnew

firmswhoareimmigrants

15%

1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007

Source:UsedwithpermissionfromWilliamKerr,TheGiftofGlobalTalent:HowMigrationShapesBusiness,Economy&Society,2019.

WilliamKerr’s27.1percentfigurecoveringimmigrantstartupsshowsthatinarough

approximationimmigrantsaccountforabout785,900netjobsperyear.24

EconomistsSariPekkalaKerrandWilliamKerralsoprovideamoredetailed

breakdownofimmigrantentrepreneursbysectorandstates.25Theycomparedthe

Thispercentageiscalculatedbymultiplyingtheshareofimmigrantsthatcreatestartupsbythe2.9millionnetjobscreatedannuallyasestimatedbyDeckeretal.,“TheRoleofEntrepreneurship.”

KerrandKerr,“ImmigrantEntrepreneurshipinAmerica.”

13

percentageoffirmsstartedbyimmigrants—eitheraloneorworkingwithnatives—inboth

thehigh-andlow-techsectors.In2007,thatgroupofentrepreneursstarted24.8percent

and23.6percentofhigh-andlow-techfirms,respectively.Thosefiguresriseto28.6percent

and25.5percent,respectively,in2012.

KerrandKerralsofoundthattheindustrycompositionofimmigrantandnative

businessesiscomparablewithstrictlynative-ownedfirms.Althoughindustrysharesarenot

identical,immigrantandnativefirmsdonotappeartobedisproportionallyrepresentedin

highlycyclicalindustries.Forexample,in2012,theshareofnativefirmsinconstruction

equaled13.4percent,nearlydoublethe7.0percentfigureforimmigrantandmixed

businesses.

InsomestatessuchasCaliforniaandNewYork,first-andsecond-generation

immigrantscreatedmorethan40percentofthenewbusinessesovertheperiodof2008to

2012.Butthereisawiderangeatthestatelevel.Forexample,first-andsecond-generation

immigrantsstartedonly5percentofthenewbusinessesinIdahoandNorthDakota.Such

differencesreflectdifferencesinthesizeofimmigrantpopulationsinthosestates.

Immigrantbusinessespaycomparablewagesbutprovidefewerbenefits,suchas401K

plans.Furthermore,immigrantfirmsaremoreengagedininternationaltradethanare

nativestartups.Thisengagementreflectsabetterunderstandingofforeignmarkets,

especiallyinthecountriestheyemigratedfrom.

Readerscanconcludethatimmigrantstendtobeentrepreneurialandtostarta

significantshareofUSbusinesses.Thosenewfirmsalsomakeasignificantcontributionto

employmentgrowthintheUnitedStates.

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ImmigrationandInnovation

Agrowingbodyofresearchconfirmsthatimmigrantsplayanimportantroleininnovation

andimprovedbusinessefficiencyintheUnitedStatesandabroad.Forexample,two

articlesbyHunt—oneco-authoredwithGauthier-Loiselle—showedthatimmigrant

graduateswithscienceandengineeringdegreeshadapatentratedoubletheaveragenative

ratefortheperiodof1940to2000.26WhenimmigrantUSpatentshareiscomparedwith

nativesofsimilareducations,thedifferenceissmaller.Theauthorspointedoutthat

immigrants’shareofUSpatentshasincreasedsignificantlyoverthepast20years.Using

state-levelUSdata,HuntandGauthier-Loiselleestimatedthata1percentincreasein

immigrantcollegegraduatesasashareofthepopulationincreasesthenumberofpatents

percapitaby9to18percent.27

However,theagingpopulationintheUnitedStateswillleadtoadeclineinbusiness

startupsandinnovationovertime.28Expandingimmigrationcanmoderatethoseforcesto

helpstabilizelong-termeconomicgrowth.So,inadditiontostartingbusinesses,manyof

thosebusinessesarehighlyinnovative.Immigrantsbringnewideasaboutpotentialnew

productsandbetterwaystoproduceexistingproductsorservices.

HuntandGauthier-Loiselle,“HowMuchDoesImmigrationBoostInnovation?”;Hunt,“WhichImmigrantsAreMostInnovativeandEntrepreneurial?”.

HuntandGauthier-Loiselle,“HowMuchDoesImmigrationBoostInnovation?”

JamesLiang,HuiWang,andEdwardP.Lazear,“DemographicsandEntrepreneurship,”JournalofPoliticalEconomy126,no.51(2018):S140–S196;CharlesJones,“TheEndofEconomicGrowth?UnintendedConsequencesofaDecliningPopulation”(NBERWorkingPaper26651,NationalBureauofEconomicResearch,Cambridge,MA,2020);NicholasBloom,CharlesI.Jones,JohnVanReenen,andMichaelWebb,“AreIdeasGettingHardertoFind?”AmericanEconomicReview110,no.4(2020):1104–44.

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byusingtheperson’sfirstandlastname.29DrawingondatafromtheUSPatentand

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