Ethnocentric concerns have held an incomprehensible hold over conservative politics for some time now, and the pernicious effect it’s having on their ideology is underlined by new research from Vanderbilt University, which finds that conservatives are willing to undermine democracy to uphold these concerns.
This reflects a narrative surrounding immigration that is often overwhelmingly negative. As new research from Wharton reminds us, however, immigrants are also vital to the entrepreneurial output of any nation.
Entrepreneurial immigrants
The researchers gathered data on new firms created in the United States between 2005 and 2010 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, together with data on all firms featured in the Fortune 500 rankings in 2017.
“This paper works to fill in the picture through the lens of entrepreneurship,” the researchers say. “By looking in a more comprehensive manner at the U.S. economy, the analysis helps balance the ledger in assessing immigrants’ economic roles.”
The study reveals that immigrants make up around 15% of the workforce, but they are 80% more likely to become entrepreneurs than their native-born peers. The data suggests that first- and second-generation immigrants are launching businesses on a huge scale, whether high-tech startups or small sandwich shops.
Taken collectively, it’s clear that these immigrant entrepreneurs are creating far more jobs than they could possibly be taking by virtue of the extra competition new workers presents in the labor market. The research builds on previous work that highlights the huge quantity of migrants registering patents and holding STEM degrees. By assessing tax records, they also revealed that immigration doesn’t suppress wages either, with salaries in immigrant-founded firms either the same or slightly higher than for firms founded by native entrepreneurs.
The researchers hope that as well as correcting a few myths, they also inspire further research into this highly emotive topic so that more facts are brought to the table when discussing the merits of immigration.
“That’s the main takeaway here, that immigrants in the U.S. create a lot more jobs than they take, primarily because many are prone to starting businesses that go on to create a lot of jobs,” the researchers conclude. “While I will not comment on the policy implications of these results, I believe that the broader discussion on the role of entrepreneurship and immigration on economic growth needs to account for both sides – because leaning on one would provide an incomplete picture.”
