Conference 

# Immigration Economics 

Date and Time 

September 2, 2016 9 AM - 5 PM EDT 

Location 

Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute 

Share This Event 

##### Featuring 

[![nowrasteh_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-05/nowrasteh_cropped.jpg?itok=uGYxzEPS)](/people/alex-nowrasteh) 

[Alex Nowrasteh](/people/alex-nowrasteh)

Senior Vice President for Policy, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/AlexNowrasteh) [ 

](mailto:anowrasteh@cato.org) 

[![Calabria Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-10/calabria-cropped.jpg?itok=5EpCNOFT)](/people/mark-calabria) 

[Mark A. Calabria](/people/mark-calabria)

Former Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency; Former Chief Economist, Vice President Mike Pence; Former Senior Advisor, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/MarkCalabria) [ 

](mailto:mcalabria@cato.org) 

[![Media Name: lindsey.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/lindsey.jpg?itok=GumV-d05)](/people/brink-lindsey) 

[Brink Lindsey](/people/brink-lindsey)

Former Vice President for Research 

[ 

](mailto:blindsey@cato.org) 

![b-Powell-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-08/b-Powell-cropped.jpg?itok=kSDZvcuV) 

Benjamin Powell 

Director of Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute

Immigration is one of the most controversial public policy topics today. On one hand, tens of millions of immigrants and their children are assimilating and integrating into American economic life. On the other, concerns about immigrants and how they will affect the economic future of Americans and our nation as a whole is one of the best predictors of support for Donald Trump, the 2016 Republican Presidential candidate. Unfortunately, many of those concerns are fueled by misunderstanding the effects that immigrants and their descendants have on the U.S. economy. This special conference, timed just prior to the Presidential election, brings together some of the best minds and researchers on the economics of immigration to help inform Americans and to guide policymakers.

**Major topics that will be covered include:**

- How immigration affects wages and the labor market.
- What factors incentivize and slow unauthorized immigration.
- Immigration’s impact on the real-estate market and entrepreneurship.
- How immigration affects America’s political and economic institutions.

Please join our distinguished speakers on Friday, September 2, to discuss these and related issues.

| **8:30–9:00AM** | **Registration** |
|---|---|
| **9:00–9:10AM** | **Welcoming Remarks** [**Alex Nowrasteh**](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh), Immigration Policy Analyst, Cato Institute |
| **9:15–10:45AM** | **Panel 1: Labor and Wages** [Download a video of the Welcoming Remarks and Panel 1](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp4/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-09-02-16-01.mp4) [Download a podcast of the Welcoming Remarks and Panel 1](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-09-02-16-01.mp3) **Giovanni Peri**, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Economics, University of California, Davis **Ethan Lewis**, Associate Professor, Economics Department, Dartmouth College **Alan de Brauw**, Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division, International Food Policy Research Institute Moderated by **David Roodman**, Senior Advisor, Open Philanthropy |
| **10:45–11:05AM** | **Break** |
| **11:05AM–12:05PM** | **Panel 2: Illegal Immigration** [Download a video of Panel 2](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp4/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-09-02-16-02.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 2](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-09-02-16-02.mp3) **Douglas S. Massey**, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University **Bryan Roberts**, Research Economist, previously with the Department of Homeland Security Moderated by **Philip E. Wolgin**, Managing Director, Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress |
| **12:05–12:50PM** | **Lunch** |
| **12:50–2:00PM** | **Panel 3: Immigration and Real Estate** [Download a video of Panel 3](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp4/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-09-02-16-03.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 3](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-09-02-16-03.mp3) **Gary D. Painter**, Professor and Director of Social Policy, University of Southern California Sol Price Center for Social Innovation **Jacob Vigdor**, Daniel J. Evans Professor of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington **Susan M. Wachter**, Albert E. Sussman Professor of Real Estate, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Moderated by [**Mark Calabria**](https://www.cato.org/people/mark-calabria), Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Cato Institute |
| **2:00–3:00PM** | **Panel 4: Entrepreneurship** [Download a video of Panel 4](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp4/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-09-02-16-04.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 4](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-09-02-16-04.mp3) **Margaret Blume-Kohout**, Visiting Faculty, Department of Economics, Colgate University **Magnus Lofstrom**, Senior Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California Moderated by [**Brink Lindsey**](https://www.cato.org/people/brink-lindsey), Vice President for Research, Cato Institute |
| **3:00–3:20PM** | **Break** |
| **3:20–4:50PM** | **Panel 5: How Immigration Affects Political and Economic Institutions** [Download a video of Panel 5 and the Closing Remarks](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp4/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-09-02-16-05.mp4) [Download a podcast of Panel 5 and the Closing Remarks](http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-09-02-16-05.mp3) **Michael Clemens**, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development **Ryan Murphy**, Research Assistant Professor, O’Neil Center, Southern Methodist University **Benjamin Powell**, Director, Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University Moderated by [**Alex Nowrasteh**](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh), Immigration Policy Analyst, Cato Institute |
| **4:50–5:00PM** | **Closing Remarks** |
| **5:00–5:30PM** | **Reception** |

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