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Regarding point 5: increasing population via reproduction adds workers in 16-18 years. Immigration adds workers immediately. Additionally, immigration increas

Regarding point 5: increasing population via reproduction adds workers in 16-18 years. Immigration adds workers immediately. Additionally, immigration increases both labor supply (obviously) but also labor demand (more consumption, because immigrants buy stuff and services just like anyone else) and as a result wages are flat even when a lot of immigrants join the economy in a short amount of time. "This has been tested under conditions such as the Mariel Boat Lift, where a large number of Cuban immigrants all joined the Miami labor market in a short period of time, increasing labor supply by 7% very quickly. Research found that there was practically no impact on wages and employment for locals." https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/wiki/faq_immigration https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/wiki/faq_immigration https://www.jstor.org/stable/2523702?seq=1 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2523702?seq=1

AnthonyMouse 6y ago
> "This has been tested under conditions such as the Mariel Boat Lift, where a large number of Cuban immigrants all joined the Miami labor market in a short period of time, increasing labor supply by 7% very quickly. Research found that there was practically no impact on wages and employment for locals." The problem with all of these studies is that they only apply to the specific circumstances of the study which will probably never happen again anywhere. What happens if the immigrants send more of the money they make back to their home countries? What happens if the minimum wage is lower, or the immigrants have a higher skill level, so that the potential downside for wages is larger? What if the unemployment rate or labor demand is different, affecting the number of new workers that displace existing workers? What happens if immigrants' wages are taxed at a higher rate and the money goes to cronies and corporate welfare instead of being recirculated in the economy? Measuring what happened at a different time in a different place doesn't really tell you much.
- xyzzyz 6y ago
  Also, what would happen if the Miami economy hadn't had been experiencing a boom in cocaine industry during the same time period?
neilwilson 6y ago
But the viewpoint is one of a country. What it misses, obviously, is the negative impact on where they have come from. One areas net immigration is another area's brain drain - hence why you have concentrations in cities and poor rural areas.
tabtab 6y ago
Increasing a the population is great way to "hide debt". If the size of the economy grows, then the existing debt is smaller in comparison. It may not be that population itself is helping the economy, but rather burying debt is helping. However, arguably it's cheating.

AnthonyMouse 6y ago

> "This has been tested under conditions such as the Mariel Boat Lift, where a large number of Cuban immigrants all joined the Miami labor market in a short period of time, increasing labor supply by 7% very quickly. Research found that there was practically no impact on wages and employment for locals." The problem with all of these studies is that they only apply to the specific circumstances of the study which will probably never happen again anywhere. What happens if the immigrants send more of the money they make back to their home countries? What happens if the minimum wage is lower, or the immigrants have a higher skill level, so that the potential downside for wages is larger? What if the unemployment rate or labor demand is different, affecting the number of new workers that displace existing workers? What happens if immigrants' wages are taxed at a higher rate and the money goes to cronies and corporate welfare instead of being recirculated in the economy? Measuring what happened at a different time in a different place doesn't really tell you much.

xyzzyz 6y ago
Also, what would happen if the Miami economy hadn't had been experiencing a boom in cocaine industry during the same time period?

neilwilson 6y ago

But the viewpoint is one of a country. What it misses, obviously, is the negative impact on where they have come from. One areas net immigration is another area's brain drain - hence why you have concentrations in cities and poor rural areas.

tabtab 6y ago

Increasing a the population is great way to "hide debt". If the size of the economy grows, then the existing debt is smaller in comparison. It may not be that population itself is helping the economy, but rather burying debt is helping. However, arguably it's cheating.