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Neil:

Thanks for your summary of the Dixon and Rimmer paper. Their arguments -I thought- were well understood and generally accepted by economists. An even stronger argument could be made in connection with aging. The US needs more migrants to provide services to the aging and to pay the taxes that will fund social security. Still, the relevant point is elsewhere.

Opposition to migration is not driven by a general welfare loss but by fears of severe welfare losses among competing workers. Beyond this, racism and xenophobia plays some role.

--Menahem