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Streets of Gold

America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Forbes, Best Business Books of 2022
Behavioral Scientist, Notable Books of 2022

The facts, not the fiction, of America’s immigration experience
Immigration is one of the most fraught, and possibly most misunderstood, topics in American social discourse—yet, in most cases, the things we believe about immigration are based largely on myth, not facts. Using the tools of modern data analysis and ten years of pioneering research, new evidence is provided about the past and present of the American Dream, debunking myths fostered by political opportunism and sentimentalized in family histories, and draw counterintuitive conclusions, including:

  • Upward Mobility: Children of immigrants from nearly every country, especially those of poor immigrants, do better economically than children of U.S.-born residents – a pattern that has held for more than a century.
  • Rapid Assimilation: Immigrants accused of lack of assimilation (such as Mexicans today and the Irish in the past) actually assimilate fastest.
  • Improved Economy: Immigration changes the economy in unexpected positive ways and staves off the economic decline that is the consequence of an aging population.
  • Helps U.S. Born: Closing the door to immigrants harms the economic prospects of the U.S.-born—the people politicians are trying to protect.
  • 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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      • Kirkus

        April 1, 2022
        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(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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    • English

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