While leading vlog’s 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.
“H-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,” said Sparber.
The research found that “…rather 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…that took place in the United States from 1990 to 2010.”
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 vlog in May and will continue his research during the summer with vlog students.