Book Club - Wretched Refuse by Alex Nowrasteh and Benjamin Powell

Economic arguments favoring increased immigration restrictions suggest that immigrants undermine the culture, institutions, and productivity of destination countries. But is this actually true? Nowrasteh and Powell systematically analyze cross-country evidence of potential negative effects caused by immigration relating to economic freedom, corruption, culture, and terrorism. They analyze case studies of mass immigration to the United States, Israel, and Jordan. Their non-ideological volume challenges prevailing thinking about immigration and its impact as they present evidence that counters the idea that immigration destroys the institutions responsible for prosperity in the modern world.

About the Authors

Alex Nowrasteh is the director of immigration Studies at the Cato Institute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. He is one of the most commonly cited experts on immigration policy in the United States, and his work has been published in the World Bank Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Economic Affairs, the Fletcher Security Review, the Journal of Bioeconomics, Public Choice, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Washington Post. He also regularly appears on Fox News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, and numerous television and radio stations across the United States. He is a native of Southern California and received a BA in economics from George Mason University and his MSc in economic history from the London School of Economics.

Benjamin Powell is the Executive Director of the Free Market Institute, a Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, and a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute. He is the secretary-treasurer of the Southern Economic Association and the Association of Private Enterprise Education. Powell has authored, coauthored and/or edited six books; and authored more than seventy-five scholarly articles and policy studies. Powell's research findings and writings have been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, the Dallas Morning News, and many other outlets. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Showtime, and CNBC. He earned his BS in economics and finance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and his MA and PhD in economics from George Mason University.