How do Immigration and Technological Growth Affect One Another?
This question came to me when I began as a graduate research fellow with the Center for Growth and Opportunity. On one of my first days with the CGO, I was recommended an article that touched on the Bracero Program. The writers discussed how when the guestworker program was terminated in an attempt to protect American jobs, "farmers turned to machines" instead of hiring more native workers. This set my alarm bells ringing. During my undergraduate, I had been taught that people promote innovation. So it stood to reason that the more people you had in an area, the more likely you were to see innovation. Instead, this example showed me that the sudden decrease in people was met with an increase in tech use. Was what I had been taught wrong?
Just like that, I had my research topic. I wanted to get to the bottom of this and figure out exactly how immigration rates and technological growth affect one another. Luckily, there have been much smarter scholars who have clued in on this, too, who already conducted serious data analysis. With guidance from my research managers, I was able to gather up a whole swath of the existing literature, read it, and rank it on how relevant it was to my question. Then, I began to write.
The result of my work is a paper all about the nuanced relationship between two seemingly independent factors. I'm proud of what I've written, but I'm more proud of what I learned along the way. Researching and writing for my thesis was rewarding and helped me figure out what kind of career I want to pursue.
So if you're interested, give it a read! My thesis was published through both the Utah State University library and the CGO's website.
For the full version that I defended before a committee of my mentors, check out the library's version.
For a slightly quicker read, check out the CGO's publication.
Thanks for giving them a look!
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