From Asia, with Skills.
This paper examines the rise of high-skill migration from Asia to the United States since 1990 and its consequences for sending and receiving economies. Over 1990–2019, migrants from India, China, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines accounted for over one-third of US growth in software developer...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 215 - 241 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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American Economic Association
Winter2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=191355143&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 191355143 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 08953309 JEC jtl: Journal of Economic Perspectives issn: 08953309 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Winter2026 vid: 40 iid: 1 pid: 22 pub: American Economic Association artinfo: ui: 191355143 10.1257/jep.20251454 ppf: 215 ppct: 26 formats: tig: atl: From Asia, with Skills. aug: au: Khanna, Gaurav affil: Gaurav Khanna is Associate Professor of Economics, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California—San Diego, San Diego, California. su: India Philippines United States China Asia Labor mobility Information technology Human capital Work visas Computer software developers Asia-United States relations Engineers STEM education sug: subj: Labor mobility Information technology Human capital India Philippines United States China Asia Computer systems design and related services (except video game design and development) Work visas Computer software developers Asia-United States relations Engineers STEM education ab: This paper examines the rise of high-skill migration from Asia to the United States since 1990 and its consequences for sending and receiving economies. Over 1990–2019, migrants from India, China, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines accounted for over one-third of US growth in software developers and a quarter of the increase in scientists, engineers, and physicians. Using census microdata, visa records, and administrative sources, I show how growing US demand for talent in information technology, higher education, and healthcare interacted with Asia's demographic and educational transformations. Policy reforms in the H-1B, F-1, and J-1 programs and sectoral shifts—such as the internet revolution and aging-related healthcare demand—generated persistent needs for foreign students and workers. Asian economies were uniquely positioned to meet this demand through tertiary expansion, strong STEM institutions, English proficiency, and diaspora networks. These inflows boosted US innovation while fostering "brain gain" and "brain circulation" in Asia. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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