In Chapter 8 of We Wanted Workers, the economic benefits from immigration is discussed and questions are brought to our attention. Most of the economic benefits are driven by the relationship between an immigrant and the native. Immigrants give natives an incentive to work harder and be more productive. Immigrants also work for less, meaning that the price for services may decrease, “somebody’s lower wage is somebody else’s higher profit” (pg. 113). But, as it may seem that millions of immigrants could change the economy significantly, natives don’t benefit that much but the immigrants do. But, it does depend on the level of skill of the immigrant. If the immigrant is highly skilled, they are much better off benefitting the natives rather than low-skilled immigrants. Borjas then went into the idea of productive spillovers and if it is a possibility. Do immigrants need to bring production into the economy when the immigrate? Is it a necessity for immigrants to be high-skilled and intelligent workers? Where should the line be drawn for the status of skill of an immigrant?
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