UC Santa Barbara

This project is part of a broader interdisciplinary research agenda regarding the impact of the “fourth industrial revolution” on international affairs. In this project, I look at the effects of emerging technologies (e.g., automation and artificial intelligence (AI)) on the firm immigration-policy preferences of private firms. My current research explores how emerging technologies(e.g., automation and robotics) impact firms’ immigration lobbying in the United States. To complete my research, I have constructed an original panel dataset consisting of a series of firm-level indicators. I rely on statistical analysis in my research, including the use of an instrumental variable approach to run my regressions and address potential issues of reverse causality and omitted variable bias. Thus, this dissertation calls attention to the need to look at questions of immigration lobbying, and immigration policy more broadly, through the lens of political economy, primarily by looking at the source of firms’ production needs and demand for labor. My main claim is that automation has increased firm demand, reflected via its lobbying, for non-routine immigrant workers.