, Columnist
US Politicians Need to Bone Up on Immigration Economics
Net positive.
Photographer: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
The economics of immigration has a lot in common with the economics of trade. Lower barriers to imports raise growth and living standards in the aggregate — but harm particular people and places. Lower barriers to immigration do the same. Politicians struggle to understand this trade-off, let alone manage it wisely.
Of the two, the case for more immigrants might be harder to grasp — because the aggregate gains are more subtle.