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In this paper, we assess the likely contribution of immigration over the past three and a half decades to poverty in the U.S. We first document trends in poverty rates among the native-born by race and ethnicity and poverty trends among all immigrants, recent immigrants, and immigrants by their region and (in some instances) country of origin. Next, we assess how poverty rates among immigrants change with time in the United States. Finally, we simulate the effects of competition with immigrant labor on native wages and the likely consequent effects on native poverty rates. We find that international immigration to the U.S. between 1970 and 2005 has increased the overall poverty rate due to the facts that immigrants are more likely to be poor and that an increasing proportion of the U.S. resident population that is foreign born. This effect, however, is modest (it increases U.S. poverty rates by half a percentage point) and transitory, as immigrant poverty rates decline quickly with time in the U.S. Our wage simulations indicate that competition with immigrants does adversely impact those natives, and only those natives, with the least education. However, the impact of wage competition with immigrants on native poverty rates is negligible.

This study uses ten waves of the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data to analyze the labor market performance of the working poor. Specifically, the study attempts to answer two broad questions: 1) What socio-economic characteristics are associated with vulnerability to becoming working poor? and 2) What differences, if any, exist among the working poor in terms of how long they remain employed at the bottom of the labor market? The findings suggest that the socio-economic characteristics of those who are vulnerable to becoming working poor are different from those of the rest of the labor force. Moreover, the working poor themselves constitute a very diverse group in which some members exhibit greater ability to increase their relative earnings. This implies that a one-sizefits-all approach may be ineffective in designing policies to aide those employed at the bottom of the labor market.

0 | P a g eAbstract: Michigan has undergone enormous labor market changes since the 1990s affecting employment, income, and poverty. This paper examines changes in poverty among working families and their socio-demographic characteristics between 1998/1999 and 2007/2008 in Michigan. Findings suggest the rates of ‘poverty ’ and ‘near poverty ’ to be between five and 19 percent among working families, with slightly higher rates for the latter period. Public transfers combining taxes and means-tested supports, albeit making some impact among poor families with children, were unable to lower these rates. While the major socio-demographic characteristics of poverty and near poverty among the larger population apply to those among working families, the working poor and near poor have been increasingly indistinguishable in race, marital status, nativity, education, and rural/urban residence. These findings have important implications for understanding working poverty in Michigan and beyond.

five papers appear in the IRP Discussion Paper series. Researchers, state and federal

In this paper, we assess the likely contribution of immigration over the past three and a half decades to poverty in the U.S. We first document trends in poverty rates among the native-born by race and ethnicity and poverty trends among all immigrants, recent immigrants, and immigrants by their region and (in some instances) country of origin. Next, we assess how poverty rates among immigrants change with time in the United States. Finally, we simulate the effects of competition with immigrant labor on native wages and the likely consequent effects on native poverty rates. We find that international immigration to the U.S. between 1970 and 2005 has increased the overall poverty rate due to the facts that immigrants are more likely to be poor and that an increasing proportion of the U.S. resident population that is foreign born. This effect, however, is modest (it increases U.S. poverty rates by half a percentage point) and transitory, as immigrant poverty rates decline quickly with time in the U.S. Our wage simulations indicate that competition with immigrants does adversely impact those natives, and only those natives, with the least education. However, the impact of wage competition with immigrants on native poverty rates is negligible. 2 1.

merica’s economic growth is hovering around 2 percent, public debt is $16 trillion and rising, and job creation and labor market participation remain low. Embracing a more flexible legal immigration system can dramatically improve this situation. This paper describes the link between economic growth and immigration, the need for policy change, the misguided history of America’s political opposition to immigration, and a rational immigration policy. Immigrants increase economic efficiency by reducing labor shortages in low- and high-skilled markets because their educational backgrounds fill holes in the native-born labor market. However, the share of immigrants in the U.S. workforce has declined since its 1991 peak. Increased immigration would expand the American work-force, and encourage more business start-ups. Businesses ranging from Apple Corporation to apple growers would be able to find the workers they need in America. Current law has inhibited such positive developments. H-1B temporary visas for new skilled immigrant workers, limited at 85,000 annually, do not meet demand. This quota represents

Assessing the New Federalism is a multiyear Urban Institute project designed to analyze the devolution of responsibility for social programs from the federal government to the states, focusing primarily on health care, income security, employment and training programs, and social services. Researchers monitor program changes and fiscal developments. Olivia Golden is the project director. In collaboration with Child Trends, the project studies changes in family well-being. The project aims to provide timely, nonpartisan information to inform public debate and to help state and local decisionmakers carry out their new responsibilities more effectively. Key components of the project include a household survey and studies of policies in 13 states, available at the Urban Institute’s web site,

natives over the business cycle: