This link takes you to a webpage of student reflections following our spring break 2020 trip to Mexico to experience immigration from the other side
Course description: This course examines why some individuals decide to become immigrants through a cost benefit analysis, viewing migration as an investment in human capital. It addresses the selection among immigrants and how they integrate and assimilate in the destination country. Primary focus is given to the labor market, wages in particular, both of immigrants and of natives in the host country. A distinction is made between economic migrants and refugees and discrimination in its varied forms is also studied. The fiscal impact of immigration is discussed along with immigration policy in a global context.
Goals: Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to understand the cost benefit analysis approach to the decision to immigrate and the investment in human capital. They will be able to differentiate between economic migrants and refugees, their different motivations and outcomes in the host country. Furthermore, they will be able to apply the supply and demand model and evaluate the impact of immigration on labor markets in order to identify the corresponding changes in wages. They will be able to analyze the different types of discrimination. Students will further be able to evaluate the role of institutions, government, and public policy and the impact of immigration on markets and government budgets. Students will be able to demonstrate the implications of immigration for individuals, firms, and the global economy.
Prerequisites
1) Statistics for Economics or equivalent (we will read some journal articles and you need to be familiar with regression analysis. I will review the basics as part of the course but you should have at least seen it before.)
2) Principles of Microeconomics (AP is ok, though you will need to catch up on indifference curve analysis which is standard for ND Principles of Micro. These are recordings of my principles classes covering consumer choice video 1, video 2, video 3).