Notwithstanding economists like G. Borjas claim that immigration altogether has little if any positive impact on economy. He sees the net benefit of immigration in the US being so small ($7 billion annually) that it might just as well be negative and for him the very presence of immigration depresses wages. According to him between 1980 and 2000 US-born men saw their income decrease by $1,700 (about 4%) with poorest experiencing an even larger drop of 7.4% (6). However scholars like Ottawiano and Peri dispute this allegation by calculating a 0.7%-1.8% increase in average wage of natives since 1990. NRC in 2007 estimated the immigration surplus to be $37 billion – roughly 5 times more than the estimate of the self professed conservative Republican Borjas (14,22). The Home Office in the UK has found that from 1999 to 2000 immigrants net fiscal contribution amounted to £2.5 billion (7). Another research from UCL has found that immigration between 1997 and 2005 had a small but positive effect on native born wages contributing 5% in the annual average wage growth of 3% (25).
In conclusion, immigration and multiculturalism can have many positive effects on economy. Immigrants are often more hard working and creative, which explains their high participation in entrepreneurial activities. Their specific knowledge raises productivity and even more so if utilized through international networks. Natives gain from their presence in the form of higher wages as do governments from higher tax revenues. Policy makers should take these facts into account.
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