Immigration in a Changing Economy
California’s Experience
ResearchPublished 1997
California’s Experience
ResearchPublished 1997
The current national debate on immigration policy is especially intense in California, home to one-third of the country’s immigrants. Much of this debate consists of advocates stating their views without the benefit of a nonpartisan assessment of the issue and the challenges it poses for the state. Our study provides such an assessment by examining how immigration has interacted with other demographic and economic trends in California since the 1960s. This three-year study, the first to take a 30-year perspective, profiles the changing character of recent immigrants and considers their contribution to the economy, their effects on other workers and the public sector, and their educational and economic success. Its findings can provide lessons for other states, the nation, and even other countries.
The research was carried out at RAND in the Center for Research on Immigration Policy in collaboration with the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the defense agencies.
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