Low-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurship

More than half of the foreign born workforce in the U.S. have no schooling beyond high school and about 20 percent of the low-skilled workforce are immigrants. More than 10 percent of these low-skilled immigrants are self-employed. Utilizing longitudinal data from the 1996, 2001 and 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation panels, this paper analyzes the returns to self-employment among low-skilled immigrants. We compare annual earnings and earnings growth of immigrant entrepreneurs to immigrants in wage/salary employment as well as native born business owners. We find that the returns to low-skilled self-employment among immigrants is higher than it is among natives but also that wage/salary employment is a more financially rewarding option for most low-skilled immigrants. An exception is immigrant men, who are found to have higher earnings growth than immigrants in wage/salary employment and are predicted to reach earnings parity after approximately 10 years in business. We also find that most of the 20 percent male native-immigrant earnings gap among low-skilled business owners can be explained primarily by differences in the ethnic composition. Low-skilled female foreign born entrepreneurs are found to have earnings roughly equal to those of self-employed native born women.immigrants, low-skill, earnings, self-employment, entrepreneurship

Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education for School Dropouts?

We use data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel (TSMP) to examine the extent to which dropouts use the GED as a route to post-secondary education. The paper develops a model pointing out the potential biases in estimating the effects of taking the “GED path” to postsecondary education. Lacking suitable instruments that would allow us to directly address potential biases, our approach is to base our estimates on a set of academically “at risk” students who are very similar in the 8th grade. We observe that the eventual high school graduates in this group have much better postsecondary education outcomes than do the similar at-risk 8th graders who dropped out and obtained a GED. Our model explains the observed differences, and allows for a discussion of the policy challenges inherent in improving the postsecondary outcomes of dropouts.GED, dropouts, post-secondary education

H-1Bs: How Do They Stack Up to US Born Workers?

Combining unique individual level H-1B data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and data from the 2009 American Community Survey, we analyze earnings differences between H-1B visa holders and US born workers in STEM occupations. The data indicate that H-1Bs are younger and more skilled, as measured by education, than US born workers in the same occupations. We fail to find support for the notion that H-1Bs are paid less that observationally similar US born workers; in fact, they appear to have higher earnings in some key STEM occupations, including information technology.temporary workers, H-1B, immigration, high-skill, STEM

Did the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act Reduce the State's Unauthorized Immigrant Population?

We test for an effect of Arizona’s 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) on the proportion of the state population characterized as foreign-born, as non-citizen, and as non-citizen Hispanic. We use the synthetic control method to select a group of states against which the population trends of Arizona can be compared. We document a notable and statistically significant reduction in the proportion of the Arizona population that is foreign-born and in particular, that is Hispanic noncitizen. The decline observed for Arizona matches the timing of LAWA's implementation, deviates from the time series for the chosen synthetic control group, and stands out relative to the distribution of placebo estimates for the remainder of states in the nation. Furthermore, we do not observe similar declines for Hispanic naturalized citizens, a group not targeted by the legislation. Our results on LAWA's impact on the housing market provide further support for our findings.illegal, unauthorized, undocumented, immigration, Hispanic, Arizona

Server Sky - Data Centers in Orbit

Server Sky is a proposal to build large arrays of 7 gram paper-thin solar-powered computer satellites launched into a 6400 kilometer altitude earth orbit. A server-sat is mostly a 100 micron thick, 6 inch solar cell, with processor memory and radio chips around the edges. Server-sats use light pressure for thrust and electrochromic light shutters for steering. Thousands of server-sats will be positioned in three-dimensional arrays, about 100 meters on a side. An array acts as a large phased array antenna transmitting thousands of communication beams simultaneously to ground receivers and to other arrays in space. In space, there is room for thousands of these arrays, with the total population limited by night sky light pollution. A server-sat displaces 25 watts of ground-based electrical generation, cooling, and power conversion. A server-sat does not need the racks, cabling, power converters, land, buildings, and other infrastructure needed to build a ground-based server farm. These savings alone may pay for launch. The space solar energy available for server-sats is practically unbounded. Server-sat arrays operate outside the biosphere, so the environmental impact of power generation and heat disposal is close to zero. In time, thinner server-sats, new launch techniques, and solar cells made from lunar materials may further reduce the environmental and economic costs of manufacturing and launch. Thus, earth can return to what it is good at - green and growing things - while space can be filled with gray and computing things

The Plumed Serpent

A symphonic piece for orchestra and jazz soloists composed in 1982 in four continuous movements; duration is 25 minutes. Accompanying audio recording is from page 65 of the score until the end of the piece. Score is 85 pages and recording is 6:04 minutes.https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/lofstromcollection/1003/thumbnail.jp

Immigrant Legalization: Assessing the Labor Market Effects

Assesses the effects of a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants on the labor market, tax revenues, and public assistance programs. Estimates immigrants' economic mobility by visa status and skill level as well as eligibility for benefits

Scrapbooks

Spanning from the beginning of his career to the dawn of the internet, the scrapbook covers the years 1967 to 1997 and showcase flyers, newspaper articles, critic reviews, programs, promotional materials, newsletters and photographs highlighting his work.https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/lofstromcollection/1002/thumbnail.jp

Music For Strings I, II, III

A symphonic piece for string orchestra. the first and second movements were composed in 1977 and the third movement and refashioning of the piece was completed in 1981. The accompanying audio recording is performed by the Russian String Orchestra in 2021, conducted by Misha Rachlevsky, Score is 27 pages and recording is 13:20 minutes.https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/lofstromcollection/1004/thumbnail.jp