Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2015
  • Chapter
  • Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 15

Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr, William R. Kerr and William F. Lincoln
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Firms play a central role in the selection, sponsorship, and employment of skilled immigrants entering the United States for work through programs like the H-1B visa. This role has not been widely recognized in the literature, and the data to better understand it have only recently become available. This paper discusses the evidence that has been assembled to date in understanding the impact of high-skilled immigration from the perspective of the firm and the open areas that call for more research. Since much of the U.S. immigration process for skilled workers rests in the hands of employer firms, a stronger understanding of these implications is essential for future policy analysis, particularly for issues relating to fostering innovation. Firms play a central role in the selection, sponsorship, and employment of skilled immigrants entering the United States for work through programs like the H-1B visa. This role has not been widely recognized in the literature, and the data to better understand it have only recently become available. This paper discusses the evidence that has been assembled to date in understanding the impact of high-skilled immigration from the perspective of the firm and the open areas that call for more research. Since much of the U.S. immigration process for skilled workers rests in the hands of employer firms, a stronger understanding of these implications is essential for future policy analysis, particularly for issues relating to fostering innovation.

Keywords

Business or Company Management; Human Capital; Immigration; Innovation and Invention; United States

Citation

Kerr, Sari Pekkala, William R. Kerr, and William F. Lincoln. "Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration." In Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 15, edited by William R. Kerr, Josh Lerner, and Scott Stern, 115–152. University of Chicago Press, 2015.
  • Read Now

About The Author

William R. Kerr

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • June 2022 (Revised June 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Note on Digital Commerce and Delivery: Grocery and Food Value Chains

    By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor, Paige Boehmcke and Will Ensor
    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale?

    By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr
    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Katie Couric Media: Landing the First Client

    By: N. Louis Shipley, William R. Kerr and Paige Boehmcke
More from the Authors
  • Note on Digital Commerce and Delivery: Grocery and Food Value Chains By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor, Paige Boehmcke and Will Ensor
  • Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale? By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr
  • Katie Couric Media: Landing the First Client By: N. Louis Shipley, William R. Kerr and Paige Boehmcke
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College