This book introduces readers to the economics of immigration, which is a booming field within economics. The main themes and objectives of the book are for readers to understand the decision to migrate, the impacts of immigration on markets and government budgets and the consequences of immigration policies in a global context.

Cynthia Bansak is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Economics at St. Lawrence University. She holds a BA from Yale University and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. She considers herself an applied microeconomist with research interests in labor economics, international immigration, remittances, educational attainment and business cycles. Bansak is a research fellow at IZA.

Nicole Simpson is the W Bradford Wiley Professor of Economics at Colgate University. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Iowa. She is a macroeconomist who focuses on labor issues. Her research areas include the determinants of immigration, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and education. Simpson is a research fellow at IZA.

Madeline Zavodny is a Professor of Economics at the University of North Florida. She holds a BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining UNF, she taught at Agnes Scott College and Occidental College and was an economist with the Federal Reserve System. Zavodny is a research fellow at IZA.

Part I: Background on Immigration

Chapter 1: Why Study the Economics of Immigration?

Chapter 2: Patterns of International Migration

Chapter 3: Determinants of Immigration

Part II: Immigrant Selection and Assimilation

Chapter 4: Selection in Immigration

Chapter 5: Assimilation

Chapter 6: The Second Generation

Part III: Labor Market Effects of Immigration

Chapter 7: Labor Market Effects of Immigration: Theory

Chapter 8: Labor Market Effects of Immigration: Evidence

Part IV: Other Effects of Immigration

Chapter 9: Effects on Other Markets in the Destination

Chapter 10: Fiscal Effects

Chapter 11: Effects on Source Countries

Part V: Frontiers in Immigration Research

Chapter 12: Frontiers in the Economics of Immigration

Part VI: Immigration Policy

Chapter 13: U.S. Immigration Policy

Chapter 14: Immigration Policy around the World