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  • May 2017
  • Article
  • American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings

Immigration and the Rise of American Ingenuity

By: Ufuk Akcigit, John Grigsby and Tom Nicholas
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

We build on the analysis in Akcigit, Grigsby, and Nicholas (2017) by using U.S. patent and census data to examine the relationship between immigration and innovation. We construct a measure of foreign born expertise and show that technology areas where immigrant inventors were prevalent between 1880 and 1940 experienced more patenting and citations between 1940 and 2000. The contribution of immigrant inventors to U.S. innovation was substantial. We also show that immigrant inventors were more productive than native born inventors; however, they received significantly lower levels of labor income. The immigrant inventor wage gap cannot be explained by differentials in productivity.

Keywords

Immigration; Innovation and Invention; Experience and Expertise; Wages; United States

Citation

Akcigit, Ufuk, John Grigsby, and Tom Nicholas. "Immigration and the Rise of American Ingenuity." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 107, no. 5 (May 2017): 327–331.
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About The Author

Tom Nicholas

Entrepreneurial Management
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More from the Authors

    • February 2022
    • Quarterly Journal of Economics

    Taxation and Innovation in the 20th Century

    By: Ufuk Akcigit, John Grigsby, Tom Nicholas and Stefanie Stantcheva
    • January 2022 (Revised March 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Chinese Restriction, Violence, and Exclusion in the United States

    By: Tom Nicholas, Boyang Han and Tomas Rosales
    • Business History Review

    How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma

    By: Tom Nicholas
More from the Authors
  • Taxation and Innovation in the 20th Century By: Ufuk Akcigit, John Grigsby, Tom Nicholas and Stefanie Stantcheva
  • Chinese Restriction, Violence, and Exclusion in the United States By: Tom Nicholas, Boyang Han and Tomas Rosales
  • How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma By: Tom Nicholas
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