Streets of gold : America's untold story of immigrant success

Streets of gold America's untold story of immigrant success

Ran Abramitzky

Book - 2022

"Through this authoritative account of the historical record and important new findings, Abramitzky and Boustan will help shape our thinking and policies about the fraught topic of immigration with findings such as: ·Where you come from doesn't matter. The children of immigrants from El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala today are as likely to be as successful as the children of immigrants from Great Britain and Norway 150 years ago. ·Children of immigrants do better economically than children of those born in the U.S. - a pattern that has held for more than a century. ·The children of immigrants from nearly every country, especially children of poor immigrants, are more upwardly mobile than the children of US-born residents. ·Im...migrants today, especially those from groups accused of lack of assimilation (such as Mexicans and those from Muslim countries) actually assimilate fastest. ·Immigration changes the economy in unexpected positive ways and staves off the economic decline that is the consequence of an aging population. ·Closing the door to immigrants harms the economic prospects of the U.S. born, the people politicians are trying to protect. More, not less, immigration will spur the American economy. ·Severe restrictions on immigration reduces innovation by blocking entry to future scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs. Using powerful story-telling and unprecedented research employing big data and algorithms, Abramitzky and Boustan are like dedicated family genealogists but millions of times over. They provide a new take on American history with surprising results, especially how comparable the "golden era" of immigration is to today, and why many current policy proposals are so misguided"--

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Subjects
Immigrants > United States > Economic conditions.
Children of immigrants > United States > Economic conditions.
United States > Emigration and immigration > Economic aspects.
United States > Emigration and immigration > Government policy.
Published
New York : PublicAffairs 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Ran Abramitzky (author)
Other Authors
Leah Platt Boustan (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xi, 237 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781541797833
  • 1. "I Came With Fifty Cents and That's It!"
  • Overturning America's Immigration Myths
  • 2. Fact-Checking the Past
  • Converting Millions of Immigrant Stories into Data
  • 3. A Brief History of Immigration to America
  • 4. Climbing the Ladder
  • The Rags-To-Riches Myth
  • 5. Background Is Not Destiny
  • Children of Immigrants Rise
  • 6. Becoming American
  • 7. Does Immigrant Success Harm the Us Born?
  • 8. A Second Grand Bargain
  • The Long View of Immigration Policy
  • Immigration Policy in America: A Brief Timeline
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Why immigrants make America prosper. Economists Abramitzky and Boustan mount a compelling argument for the success of immigrants in the U.S. for more than 100 years. Drawing on data documenting millions of immigrants from many countries, arriving with varying levels of education and resources, they find strong evidence of immigrants' upward mobility, assimilation, and contributions to the economy and culture. Along with a proliferation of data from sources such as ancestry.com and census records, the authors provide lively case histories to exemplify their findings and allow them to expand on each individual's situation in their home country, reasons for coming to the U.S., details about their journey, and their own and their family's experiences here since arrival. Their analysis contradicts those who believe that immigrants remain stuck in an underclass, fail to assimilate, cause crime, and take jobs away from U.S.--born workers. Although immigrants with little education often do not catch up with U.S.--born workers within one generation, write the authors, "children of poor immigrants from nearly every country in the world make it to the middle of the income distribution by adulthood, and so the fears of creating a permanent immigrant underclass are entirely misplaced." Those who arrive with viable skills and education "outearn US-born workers, even upon first arrival." Although many settle in immigrant communities when they first arrive, they soon move to locations that offer "the best opportunities for upward mobility for their kids," fostering their assimilation. In addition, they commit less crime than U.S.--born Americans. "Both in the past and today," the authors have found, "immigrants from all over the world learn English, leave immigrant neighborhoods, and marry US-born spouses." Abramitzky and Boustan append a timeline of immigration policy and urge lawmakers to take a long view in setting policy for the future. Their extensive findings make the case for welcoming immigrants' participation in "a flourishing American society." A well-researched, informative contribution to a contentious--and often misinformed--debate. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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