Where Do U.S. Immigrants Come From, and Why?

Ximena Clark, World Bank Group
Timothy J. Hatton, University of Essex
Jeffrey G. Williamson, Harvard University

This paper offers new estimates of the determinants of immigration rates by sending-country source between 1971 and 1998. We examine many more countries over a longer period than have previous studies. More importantly, we isolate the economic and demographic fundamentals which caused the composition by sending country to diverge from earlier patterns but also we allow for the persistence in those patterns arising from the impact of the existing U.S. immigrant stock. In addition, we bring to the question, for the first time, new data measuring sending-country real earnings, demographic conditions, and skill premia which, although clearly relevant, have not been used in previous analysis of this question.