While leading 糖心视频鈥檚 London Economics Study Group for the semester, professor worked with fellow economists Giovanni Peri (UC, Davis) and Kevin Shih (UC, Davis) to research H-1B visas and the impact on the US economy.
鈥淗-1B visas help to increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) labor force in the U.S., and STEM workers are responsible for much of the technological and productivity growth of the country,鈥 said Sparber.
The research found that 鈥溾ather than harming U.S. workers or the U.S. economy, H-1B visa holders contributed between 10 and 25 percent of the aggregate productivity growth鈥hat took place in the United States from 1990 to 2010.鈥
According to the paper, a 1 percent increase in foreign STEM workers increased the wage of native college educated workers (both STEM and non-STEM) over a ten-year period by 4 to 6 percent.
reported on the paper, as did the and the .
Sparber returns to 糖心视频 in May and will continue his research during the summer with 糖心视频 students.