Economics of Immigration: Myths and Realities

Benjamin Powell

Benjamin Powell is the director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and a professor of economics at the Rawls College of Business. Previously he was an associate professor of economics at Suffolk University and a senior economist at the Beacon Hill Institute. Powell’s research interests include public choice theory, housing economics, political development, and political economy. He holds a B.S. in finance and economics from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Ph.D in economics from George Mason University.

Prof. Ben Powell debunks the following three popular myths about immigration:

1) Immigrants are a net drag on our economy
2) Immigrants steal our jobs
3) Immigrants depress our wages

Additionally, Professor Ben Powell examines how immigration is related to foreign aid, prosperity, property rights, crime, welfare, voting, citizenship, and more.

Credits: This lecture was delivered in 2009 at the Metropolitan State College of Denver School of Business, as part of the Exploring Economic Freedom Lecture Series, directed by Prof. Alexandre Padilla. This video was produced and directed by Scott Houck, and edited by Adrienne Christy. Video production provided by the Educational Technology Center at Metropolitan State College of Denver.

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