The Venezuelan exodus

Out-migration from Venezuela continues. Estimates are that 20 percent of the country's population, or some 6 million people, will have left by the end of 2020. Here's a terrific piece on where they are going and what restrictions they face in destination countries. And here's another, from the Council on Foreign Relations. This exodus provides a good example of the economic and political causes of out-migration and how bad economic policies can have horrific effects.

Recent report on the fiscal impacts of immigrants

Measuring the fiscal impacts of immigrants is complicated and there are very few studies that have attempted to do this. A 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides an up-to-date analysis of the fiscal impact of immigrants at the local, state and national level. The report is comprehensive but very long. An executive summary can be found here. Pia Orennius of the Dallas Fed also published a nice article in 2017 that highlights the key findings:"New Findings on the Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the United States." 

Remittance flows around the world

The Financial Times compared remittances to the flow of foreign direct investment, foreign aid and private capital flows. Remittances is now larger then the flows of FDI around the world and is three times larger than foreign aid. The FT also produced a cool graphic showing where remittances originate and where they go, using recent World Bank data.
https://ig.ft.com/remittances-capital-flow-emerging-markets/

Blog at Colgate University

Students in Professor Simpson's Economics of Immigration course at Colgate University have created their own blog, documenting their class work, travels and experiences. Follow their posts here:
http://nsimpson.colgate.domains/econ233/