Immigration Article of the Day: The Law and Economics of Family Unification by Alan Hyde
The Law and Economics of Family Unification by Alan Hyde, to appear in 28 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal #1 (2014)
Abstract The US is internationally unique in the percentage of immigrant visas reserved for family members. The practice has been criticized on the grounds that visas for parents, siblings, and adult children might better be reallocated to skilled workers, and Congress has come close to adopting such reforms. This Article argues by contrast that family unification is a very good economic deal for the US. First, the limited data that exist, contrasting immigrant earnings by type of visa, show no sharp distinction in earnings by type of immigrant visa. This is a surprise to one operating entirely within a human capital framework in which all earnings in labor markets are necessarily a function of skills and education. The paradox is resolved by incorporating three economic models of migration or labor markets that are not usually applied to this debate: (1) New Economics of Migration or family investment models, in which families, not individuals, are economic units; (2) network models of labor markets, in which productivity reflects social ties rather than skills as such; and (3) family economics in which a woman’s economic contribution is often reflected in the earnings of her husband, children, or a family firm. Incorporating these models makes sense of three frequently-observed patterns of immigrant economic activity that illustrate why family unification visas are a good economic deal. Immigrant women frequently perform paid or unpaid intrafamily child care. Immigrants frequently work in family businesses. Immigrant wives frequently work while husbands build small businesses or attend graduate school. In each of these common scenarios, the immigrant admitted on a family unification visa is economically productive and almost certain not to be taking a job from a US worker. However, the immigrant’s economic contribution is importantly realized by the immigrant’s children, spouse, or family business. While skilled migration is crucial to US economic success, there is no reason that it should come at the expense of family unification.
Download The Law and Economics of Family Unification
KJ