RESENA BIBLIOGRAFICA The International Migration of the Highly Skilled- Demand, Supply, and Development Consequences in Sending and Receiving Countries Wayne Cornelius, Thomas Espenshade, and Idean Salehyan (editors) La Jolla. Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, ucsn, 2001 The recent emphasis on the impor- tance of knowledge, skills, and tech- nologies in post-industrialized economies has brought the highly skilled component of U.S. immigra- tion flows under scrutiny. Proponents of an increase in the flow of highly skilled immigrants point to a short- age in that segment of the domestic workforce and the significant eco- nomic and social contributions made by professionals who are immigrants. Opponents argue that highly skilled labor undercuts opportunities for the domestic workforce, driving down wages and undermining working conditions. Both sides stress the con- sequences for policies on immigra- tion, education, science, labor, and national security. The United States is not alone in shopping for highly skilled workers, which complicates the situation. Other labor-importing coun- tries-Germany, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and South Africa, to name a few-have been actively promot- ing, or at least considering, an in- crease in highly skilled immigration. The governments of key la- bor-exporting countries, such as In- jeanne Batalova University of California, Irvine dia and China, also have a stake in the global flows of highly skilled workers. The International Migration of the Highly Skilled is carefUlly crafted to describe and theorize the causes for the increase in temporary and perma- nent flows of professionally trained migrants and implications for both sending and receiving countries. The collection grew out of a fruitful con- ference concerning the migration of the highly skilled, which brought to- gether scholars, researchers, policy makers, industry representatives, and students of international migration, global labor movements, and public policy. Wayne Cornelius and Thomas Espenshade take the reader to the center of contemporary debates on the nature and impacts of U.S. im- migration of the highly skilled by giving a succinct overview of the pros and cons and the supporting evidence from both sides. The au- thors also discuss the challenges that other labor-importing nations (for example, Germany) face in the com- petition for qualified foreign work- ers, which include the peculiarities 200 MIGRACIONES INTERNACIONALES of labor markets and fiscal struc- tures, low public tolerance for for- eigners, lack of national consensus on the goals of immigration policy, and complicated immigration sys- tems. Although it seems that the United States has worked out an efficient and flexible immigration policy for employment-based immigrants and temporary workers, Margaret Us- dansky and Thomas Espenshade suggest that many unresolved ten- sions still exist in that policy. One is between the need to attract immi- grants who can contribute economi- cally and thus help the nation to compete internationally versus the need to ensure that domestic work- ers are not displaced or otherwise negatively affected. Usdansky and Espenshade outline the history and socioeconomic context of relevant U.S.legislation, with a specific focus on its implications for admission and integration of both permanent and temporary (Hl-B visa) highly skilled migrants. Robert Bach, a senior Immigra- tion and Naturalization Service offi- cial during the Clinton administra- tion, provides an insider's view on the impacts of immigration policies on the U.S. labor market, and on employment and earning opportu- nities for both high- and low-skilled domestic and immigrant workers. While Bach brings low-skilled work- ers into the policy-making picture, Christian Zlolniski convincingly ar- gues for the acknowledgment of those whose contribution to the suc- cess of the high-tech economy goes largely unnoticed and unappreci- ated. Zlolniski exammes the role played by service workers, janitors, and cleaners who maintain the high-tech industry. The author ana- lyzes their socio-demographic char- acteristics, occupational and earn- ings opportunities, as well as their response to substandard labor and working conditions. Bach and Zlolniski agree that structural de- mands of the U.S. economy drive the immigration of both highly skilled and low-skilled workers, and that striking similarities exist between Hl-B workers and janitors. They also concur that immigration de- bates, especially regarding tempo- rary foreign workers, should not be restricted to "pro-" and "anti-" im- migration arguments but rather should be part of comprehensive la- bor-market reform. Rafael Alarcon continues the dis- cussion of U.S. immigration policy. He focuses on its labor-market im- pacts, specifically on its role in the for- mation of immigrant labor-market niches in high-tech industry. He argues that U.S. immigration policy in the mid-1960s facilitated selective immigration of highly educated Indians and other Asians, which re- sulted in their disproportionate concentration in professional occupa- tions. On the other hand, since the mid-nineteenth century, U.S. immi- gration policies regarding Mexicans instituted the migration of low-skilled workers to be employed, first, in railroad construction and, later, in agriculture. These diametri- cally opposed policies resulted in im- migrants' specialization in certain occupations, making Indians cerebreros (brain workers) and Mexi- cans braceros (arm workers). Lindsay Lowell creates a so- do-demographic profile of the for- eign workers who come to the United States to work temporarily on Hl-B visas. He also addresses the controversy over the existence of a shortage of skilled labor in the information-technology sector. The H 1-B workers are at the center of the political and public debates on this issue. Jean Gurcak and his collaborators address the conse- quences for the labor market of the presence of highly skilled foreign scientists and engineers. They also tackle another controversial topic: the impact of foreign students trained in U.S. universities have on the composition of graduate- -school student bodies, as well as the competition those interna- tional students pose for domestic students (especially minorities and women), and when they enter the workforce as Hl-B or green-card workers, for domestic workers. Magnus Lofstrom and Analee Saxenian document the settlement of highly skilled immigrants in cer- tain geographic areas, which pro- motes the development of ethnic economic niches and entrepreneur- ship. Such developments may be positive and negative for both immi- grant and native professionals. On one hand, by opening their busi- nesses, professional immigrants not only contribute to the informa- tion-technology economy, but also create new jobs that both native and foreign workers can fill. On the other hand, their increasing presence RESENA BIBLIOGRa.FICA 201 may have wage-depressing effects. Given this ambiguity, Marc Ros- enblum calls for more research on the impacts on the U.S. labor market of highly skilled immigrants. Aneesh Aneesh and Paula Cha- kravartty indicate that developing countries, such as India and China, are also the key players in the global movement of highly skilled labor. With his discussion of virtual migra- tion, Aneesh challenges our conven- tional perception of "migration," "labor," and "trade" between coun- tries. For example, the development of fast computer and communica- tion technologies as well as changing labor practices allow the program- mer in India to communicate with clients in the United States, or to ac- cess and implement changes to a computer in Canada. This "invisible and disembodied process of labor supply'' along with more traditional "body shopping" (bringing high skilled workers on Hl-B visas to work as contractors in U.S. compa- nies) become important options in the era of global capitalism (p. 355). Aneesh stresses the need to develop new conceptualizations and analyses of international labor migration. Chakravartty discusses the role of so-called flexible citizens, "the finan- ciers and brokers of the practices of body shopping, long-term emigra- tion, and return migration" oflndia's highly skilled migrant class. These "flexible citizens" promote business and government ties between India and the United States, the develop- ment of high-tech industry in India, and changes in the relationship be-:- tween science, the state, and the mar- 202 MIGRACIONES INTERNACIONALES ket in postcolonial India (p. 326). Many are Americans of Indian de- scent, and they advocate a liberaliza- tion of the Indian economy, a reduction of state influence on scien- tific knowledge production, a pro- motion of a global image oflndia as a "manpower exporter," as well as new forms of citizenship and voluntary charity rather than state interven- tion. Such an agenda is not shared ubiquitously as many are concerned with increasing social inequality and point to growing labor shortages in India. "Brain drain" is likely to stay a thorny issue in Indian politics. Mahmood Iq hal's essay indicates that brain drain is not a problem of developing countries only. He argues that Canada also should be con- cerned that its highly skilled citizens leave for the United States in search of brighter economic opportuni- ties-higher earnings, lower taxes, and better jobs. Education, health, and social services, which the Cana- dian government heavily subsidizes, are in some sense wasted if Canadian professionals choose to contribute to the U.S. economy instead of to their own. Arguments that highly skilled immigrants are good substitutes for the professionals emigrating from Canada do not convince lq bal. As Monica Boyd discusses in her essay, foreign-born engineers, as a group, are less likely than Canadian-born engineers to be in jobs that corre- spond to their training. This suggests at least some "mismatch" for immi- grant professionals. Moreover, the wage gap between foreign-born and native-born workers with compara- ble education is slow to narrow. Some of her findings are similar to what Saxenian and Lofstrom ob- served in the case of U.S. highly skilled immigrants. Rosenblum concludes the volume by suggesting policy implications. He argues that in the context of a "third industrial revolution'' -the informa- tion revolution-the U.S. national interest, in regard to the immigration of the highly skilled, lies in maximiz- ing national wealth and security while minimizing negative wage effects of the expanding labor market. Among the various paths to achieve these goals, Rosenblum believes the best is to expand permanent immigration of the highly skilled, which will limit downward pressure on wages and promote the social integration of im- migrants. The International Migration of the Highly Skilled offers highly informa- tive, well-structured, and compre- hensive essays. Its distinctive feature is a cross-disciplinary and cross-na- tional collaboration, which makes it a treasury of original ideas, fresh theo- retical perspectives, diverse method- ological approaches, and challenging policy suggestions. However, the au- thors do not apply a consistent defini- tion of the "highly skilled" concept, with some including under that ru- bric only scientists and engineers, while others extend it to managers, health-care professionals, and other professionals. This is understandable given the relatively new emphasis on the immigration of the highly skilled, but future efforts might benefit from the development of a common defini- tion. The collection will be of interest to a diverse readership, because it in- RESENA BIBLIOGRaFICA 203 vites researchers to join their efforts in ily, social inequality, national secu- exploring a new agenda of immigra- rity, education, and science issues in tion research that has, and will have, many countries. strong connections with labor, fam-