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Substitution between groups of highly-educated, foreign-born, H-1B workers

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  • Sparber, Chad

Abstract

Highly-educated foreign-born workers can secure legal US employment through the H-1B program. The annual cap on H-1B issuances varies across individuals’ US educational experience, H-1B work history, and employer type. Caps are met quickly in most but not all years. This paper exploits these differences to identify whether firms substitute across different sources of highly-educated, foreign-born, H-1B labor. New H-1B workers without advanced degrees from US universities substitute with new H-1B workers possessing advanced US degrees. Regressions find no evidence for substitution with established H-1B workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Sparber, Chad, 2019. "Substitution between groups of highly-educated, foreign-born, H-1B workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:61:y:2019:i:c:s092753711930082x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2019.101756
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    Cited by:

    1. Sharma, Rishi & Sparber, Chad, 2020. "Buying Lottery Tickets for Foreign Workers: Search Cost Externalities Induced by H-1B Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 13892, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Takuma Sugiyama, 2024. "Does the Restriction Policy of High-skill Immigrants Benefit Native Workers?," Discussion Paper Series DP2024-01, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    3. Sharma, Rishi R. & Sparber, Chad, 2024. "Buying lottery tickets for foreign workers: Lost quota rents induced by H-1B policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Anna Maria Mayda & Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri & Kevin Shih & Chad Sparber, 2023. "Coping with H-1B Shortages: Firm Performance and Mitigation Strategies," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(5), pages 919-943, October.
    5. Raux, Morgan, 2023. "Recruitment Competition and Labor Demand for High-Skilled Foreign Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 16554, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Zahra Murad & Robert Dowell, 2020. "Foreign visa salary requirement and natives’ reservation wages," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2020-06, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Skilled workers; H-1B Status; Immigration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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