Do Interest Groups Affect US Immigration Policy?

Anna Maria Mayda, Giovanni Facchini and Prachi Mishra

No 6898, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: While anecdotal evidence suggests that interest groups play a key role in shaping immigration policy, there is no systematic empirical analysis of this issue. In this paper, we construct an industry-level dataset for the United States, by combining information on the number of temporary work visas with data on lobbying activity associated with immigration. We find robust evidence that both pro- and anti-immigration interest groups play a statistically significant and economically relevant role in shaping migration across sectors. Barriers to migration are lower in sectors in which business interest groups incur larger lobby expenditures and higher in sectors where labour unions are more important.

Keywords: Immigration; Immigration policy; Interest groups; Political economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ltv, nep-mig and nep-pol
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Do interest groups affect US immigration policy? (2011)
Working Paper: Do Interest Groups affect US Immigration Policy? (2009)
Working Paper: Do Interest Groups Affects US Immigration Policy? (2008)
Working Paper: Do Interest Groups Affect U.S. Immigration Policy? (2008)
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