– The authors find some evidence that immigration adversely affects whether U.S.-born women who graduated from college majored in a science or engineering field. There is little evidence of negative effects among U.S.-born men.
– Women were more likely to major in education and in psychology as the immigrant share while in college increased.
– The probability that men earned an advanced degree is negatively related to the immigrant share
while in college, and the probability among women is positively related to the immigrant share
while in high school.
– The across-states instrumental variable (IV) results indicate that a higher immigrant share while in college increases the probability that female S&E majors earn an advanced degree. The IV results thus suggest that women with higher ability in S&E, as signaled by earning an advanced degree, may be the ones who remain S&E majors as a result of immigration.
– The immigrant share in college has a more adverse effect than the immigrant share in high
school on whether women major in S&E and on whether they ultimately work in S&E.
– Immigration may raise the bar in STEM fields, increase the selectivity of U.S. natives into S&E majors, and ultimately have a positive effect on innovation. Looking at whether immigration affects selectivity into S&E majors using data with a better measure of ability is an important area for future research.
* Immigration negatively impacts the odds that women will major in STEM