Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Economics
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
In this dissertation, I present three chapters on the socio-economic impacts of immigration policy and diversity in the U.S. Immigration is becoming an increasingly important component of the the U.S. economy. At the same time, the U.S. is becoming more diverse along many measures. As issues of immigration and diversity grow in importance for policy makers, it is essential for economists to better understand the myriad effects they have on society. This work contributes to this goal first by investigating the impact of immigration policy on crime and second by examining the impact of diversity entrepreneurship.
The second chapter in this paper, ``Out of the Shadows: Crime in Sanctuary Cities'', investigates the impact of sanctuary city policies on crime. The study shows that sanctuary cities, which restrict local authorities from participating in immigration enforcement, experience a decline in property crime and no significant change in violent crime when compared to non-sanctuary cities. The third chapter, ``287(g) Agreements and Crime in U.S. Counties,'' expands on the topic of immigration policy and public safety by exploring the impact of the 287(g) program on crime. The study shows that counties that participate in the 287(g) program, which trains local officials to carry out aspects of immigration enforcement, experience no significant difference in crime when compared to counties that do not participate in the program. The fourth chapter, ``Does Diversity Encourage Entrepreneurship? Evidence from U.S. Cities,'' examines the impact of diversity on entrepreneurship. This study uses linguistic fractionalization as a proxy for diversity, and finds that cities with faster growth in diversity also experience faster growth in entrepreneurship.
Date
4-9-2020
Recommended Citation
Gingeleskie, Peter, "Socio-Eonomic Impact of Immigration and Diversity in the U.S." (2020). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5222.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5222
Committee Chair
Unel, Bulent
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5222