Balder Ex-Libris

Author : Richwine Jason
Title : IQ and immigration policy
Year : 2009

Link download : Richwine_Jason_-_IQ_and_immigration_policy.zip

Introduction. In the first couple of decades after World War II, immigrants were a small portion of the American population, coming mainly from Europe due to formal and informal restrictions on non-white immigration in place since the 1920s. Immigrants at the time had slightly less education but earned slightly more income than natives. The situation began to change after 1965, when the U.S. abolished national origin quotas, set aside specific visas for Western hemisphere immigrants, and gave preference to applicants who had relatives residing in the U.S. (Lynch and Simon 2003, 16). The new policy, combined with periodic increases in visa allowances and a growing illegal immigrant presence, helped to change the type of immigrants who came to the U.S. Immigrants have become increasingly less skilled, in terms of education and income, relative to the native population (Borjas 1999, 21-22). This situation is not necessarily problematic. European immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were similarly unskilled, but fears that they would damage American society proved to be baseless. The optimistic argument says that if today’s immigrants gradually get better educations and move up the socioeconomic ladder, then they could assimilate culturally and economically just as Europeans did. However, this optimism is unwarranted if the average immigrant lacks the raw cognitive ability, or intelligence, to pursue higher education and take on skilled labor. Just as low intelligence will limit an individual’s career choices, low average intelligence in a group will inhibit its overall success. This dissertation assesses the average intelligence of current immigrants living in the U.S. and explores its implications. ...