1. Economic Impacts of Immigrants in Boston
Monday, April 28, 2014
Key Components of Immigration Reform:
Federal, State and Regional Lens
Rod Motamedi, Senior Economic Associate
Chris Judson, Associate Economist
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2. Timeline
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Nov 2012 – POTUS mentions Immigration Reform
in his election victory speech
Jan 2013 – POTUS highlights Immigration Reform
in his SOTU address
Jan 2013 – Bipartisan group of Senators release
plan to address Immigration Reform
Jun 2013 – Senate Bill passes, considered dead on
arrival in House
Oct 2013 to Present – On and off Policy Agenda

3. Policy Question
What is the effect of
immigration reform
on the broader economy,
both at the national and
state levels?
What does this mean for Boston?
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4. Key Components of
Immigration Reform
Creating a Pathway to Legal Status
Effects of incorporating the more than 11 million
undocumented immigrants into the formal economy
Expanding High-Skilled Visas
Increasing cap on H-1B Visa issuance
In national report but not included today
Reforming Lesser-Skilled Visas
H-2A (temporary or seasonal agricultural work)
H-2B (nonagricultural seasonal, intermittent or peak load work)
W-1 (lesser-skilled, nonagricultural work)
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5. Approach to Modeling
Goal was to understand the effect on the greater
national and state economies.
This study is unique in showing comprehensive
macroeconomic impacts for all states and across all
industry sectors on an annual basis.
Applied MA immigration totals with PI+ BRA model
baseline data to understand regional effects based
on employment shares
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6. Key Finding
All states see significant growth in
major indicators such as GDP and
total jobs for each component of
immigration reform examined.
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7. Pathway to Legal Status
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8. Approach to Analyze Pathway
No increase in workforce or population
Increase in labor productivity
Indirectly modeled
Increase in wages
Accounted for labor costs to businesses
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9. Summary Pathway Findings
Increased jobs and income
Increased job opportunities for existing U.S.
workers
Increased real income per capita for Americans
Increases in construction for housing- and
consumption-related industries in particular
All states see increases due to economic linkages
between the states
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10. National Results
Pathway to Legal Status
In 2014, providing a pathway to legal status will
produce a total of 123 thousand jobs as well as
add approximately $10 billion to GDP.
By 2020, it is estimated that the result of the
expansion will be 551 thousand jobs and the
increase in GDP will total $45 billion.
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11. Change in Employment
from Baseline 2020

12. Key Industries
Pathway to Legal Status
Job gains are across diverse industry sectors. The
industries listed below, organized by total job gains,
represent over 50% of the total job gains for the
nation as a result of this change in policy.
Retail Trade 15%
Construction 15%
Ambulatory Health Care Services 12%
Administrative and Support Services 6%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 5%
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13. Boston – Pathway
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0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Jobs
Employment Impact
Suffolk County
Four County Region
Rest of MA

14. Boston – Pathway
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Suffolk County Top Employment by
Industry 2020
Hospitals 318
Securities, commodity contracts,
investments 168
Ambulatory health care services 160
Professional, scientific, and technical
services 153
Educational services 128
Retail trade 103
Administrative and support services 91
Food services and drinking places 80
Construction 73
Personal and laundry services 51

15. Boston – Pathway
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Gross Regional Product (Millions of Fixed 2014 $)
2020
Suffolk County GRP $205 Million
22 percent of total MA GSP impact
2030
Suffolk County GRP $168 Million
21 percent of total MA GSP impact
Negligible, slightly negative population effects

16. Boston – Pathway
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$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
MillionsofFixed2014$
Personal Income Impact
Suffolk County
Four County Region
Rest of MA

17. Visa Expansion & Reform
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18. Approach to Analyze Visas
Increase in jobs and international migrants
Provides workers for U.S. industry expansion
Economic expansion driven by increased business
competitiveness
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19. Summary of Visa Reforms
Increased jobs and income
Increased job opportunities in income per capita
for existing U.S. workers
Increase in jobs through firm expansion and
increased production
All states see increases due to economic linkages
Expanding economic pie benefits existing U.S
workers
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20. High-Skilled Visas
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21. National Results
High-Skilled Visa Expansion
In 2014, expansion of high-skilled visas will
produce a total of 227 thousand jobs as well as
add approximately $22 billion to GDP.
By 2020, the expansion creates approximately 408
thousand jobs and increases GDP by $41 billion.
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22. Change in Employment from
Baseline 2020

23. Key Industries
High-Skilled Visa Expansion
Job gains are not only concentrated in industries
with high H-1B issuance. The industries listed below,
organized by total job gains, represent over 50% of
the total job gains for the Nation as a result of this
change in policy.
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 18%
Construction 8%
Retail Trade 7%
Food Services and Drinking Places 7%
Administrative and Support Services 7%
Educational Services 4%
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24. Key Findings
High-Skilled Visa Expansion
The economic benefits are not restricted to
states that receive large shares of H-1B Visa
issuance.
For every visa issued, it creates anywhere
from 2 to more than 8 new jobs depending on
the state.
High-Skilled Visas have a high impact on
economy.
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25. Boston – H-1B
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0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Jobs
Employment Impact
Suffolk County
Four County Region
Rest of MA

26. Boston – H-1B
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Suffolk County Top Employment by
Industry 2020
Professional, scientific, and technical
services 556
Educational services 242
Hospitals 224
Food services and drinking places 176
Administrative and support services 123
Securities, commodity contracts,
investments 103
Retail trade 90
Real estate 68
Construction 62
Membership associations and
organizations 57

27. Boston – H-1B
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Gross Regional Product (Millions of Fixed 2014 $)
2020
Suffolk County GRP $348 Million
22 percent of total MA GSP impact
2030
Suffolk County GRP $556 Million
21 percent of total MA GSP impact

28. Boston – H-1B
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Individuals
Population Impact
Suffolk County
Four County Region
Rest of MA

29. Boston – H-1B
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$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
MillionsofFixed2014$
Personal Income Impact
Suffolk County
Four County Region
Rest of MA

30. Concluding Remarks
The immigration policies we evaluated promote
economic growth.
The economic growth is broad based across states
and industries.
Existing American workers have increased
employment opportunities and incomes.
Immigration reform in Boston, benefits
surrounding counties rest of state- counterfactual
approach
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31. Thank You
http://www.remi.com/immigration-report
@REMIeconomics
www.remi.com
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