Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Immigration

Immigration policy; securing America's borders, controlling the number of foreign nationals who enter the country, and ensuring assimilation into American society is the most important issue confronting U.S. policy makers. The nation state is the best organizing principle for the global population. Nation states have been long defined by secure borders, a common language, a shared culture, and a nation of citizens dedicated to the common good. U.S. immigration policy as administered by successive Presidents and Congresses from 1965 to 2025 ignored those tenets and threw open U.S. borders to all who wish to enter, legally or illegally, and discouraged assimilation. American citizens, American tax payers, have paid a high price.

12Policy Briefs Published

Key Research Questions

01
How do different immigration levels affect native-born wages and employment?
02
What is the net fiscal impact of immigration on federal and state budgets?
03
How do visa categories shape human capital and innovation outcomes?
04
What are the economic consequences of enforcement-first versus pathway-first approaches?

Recent Research

Immigration

Labor Market Impacts of Immigration Policy Reform: A State-Level Analysis

August 2026

Immigration

The Fiscal Balance Sheet: Immigrants and Federal Entitlement Programs

May 2026

Immigration

H-1B Visa Policy and STEM Workforce Outcomes

February 2026

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Expert Commentary

"Sound immigration policy requires rigorous data, not ideology. That is what PolicyMatters USA delivers."

PolicyMatters USA Research Team

Explore Other Topics

Immigration

Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Trade

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Regulation

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Education

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness

Deficit trajectories, entitlement reform, and generational equity

Federal Debt

Trillion dollar yearly budget deficits, trillion dollar annual interest payments on the national debt, and nearly $40 trillion in total national debt outstanding should be a warning to us all. Fiscal policy is out of control. Led by both political parties, trillion dollar annual deficits are the norm, and more and more debt seemingly doesn't matter. It does and it will. America is on a unsustainable fiscal path at the federal, state, and local level.

18Policy Briefs Published

Key Research Questions

01
At what debt-to-GDP ratio does federal borrowing begin to crowd out private investment?
02
Which entitlement reforms deliver the greatest fiscal savings with the least economic disruption?
03
How do interest rate changes affect the federal debt service burden?
04
What are the distributional consequences of deficit reduction across income groups?

Recent Research

Federal Debt

The Fiscal Reckoning: Projecting America's Debt Trajectory Through 2040

September 2026

Federal Debt

Social Security Solvency: Reform Options and Their Economic Consequences

June 2026

Federal Debt

Interest Rate Sensitivity and the Federal Debt Service Burden

March 2026

View all Federal Debt research

Expert Commentary

"Sound federal debt policy requires rigorous data, not ideology. That is what PolicyMatters USA delivers."

PolicyMatters USA Research Team

Explore Other Topics

Immigration

Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Trade

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Regulation

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Education

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Trade

The U.S. trade deficit in goods set another yearly record in 2025 reaching $1.23 trillion. 2025 was the fifth year in a row the U.S. trade deficit in goods exceeded $1 trillion. America is reliant on a strategic foe for many of the goods needed each day from military equipment to pharmaceuticals and the base ingredients to the metals needed for renewable power to basic consumer goods. The transfer of wealth from America to foreign countries and the subsequent loss of ownership of trillions of dollars of U.S. assets should be a serious national security concern. The loss of jobs, skills, expertise, and infrastructure has weakened America. For nearly 50 years America has practiced a unilateral free trade policy that has wrecked havoc on the domestic economy.

9Policy Briefs Published

Key Research Questions

01
What are the net welfare effects of recent tariff escalation on American households?
02
How do trade agreements affect manufacturing employment and wages?
03
What is the relationship between trade openness and domestic innovation?
04
How should the U.S. approach trade policy with China in the next decade?

Recent Research

Trade

Tariff Escalation and Supply Chain Resilience: Lessons from 2018–2026

July 2026

Trade

The Consumer Cost of Protectionism: A Household-Level Analysis

April 2026

Trade

USMCA at Five Years: Economic Outcomes and Lessons for Future Agreements

January 2026

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Expert Commentary

"Sound trade policy requires rigorous data, not ideology. That is what PolicyMatters USA delivers."

PolicyMatters USA Research Team

Explore Other Topics

Immigration

Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Trade

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Regulation

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Education

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Regulation

Excessive regulation is strangling the U.S. economy. For decades American businesses and entrepreneurs have been slowed by an ever growing list of laws, rules, and regulations at the federal, state and local level. According to the Office of the Federal Register, at the federal level alone there are 430 government departments and agencies imposing rules and regulations upon households and businesses. To enhance productivity and efficiency across the economy the regulatory burden must be reduced to free up capital and labor.compliance costs, shapes market structure, and affects business formation and investment. Our research quantifies the economic burden of the regulatory state and evaluates the evidence base for specific regulatory interventions.

7Policy Briefs Published

Key Research Questions

01
What is the aggregate annual cost of federal regulation on the U.S. economy?
02
Which regulatory domains impose the highest costs relative to their stated benefits?
03
How does regulatory uncertainty affect business investment and hiring decisions?
04
What deregulatory reforms have the strongest evidence base for economic benefit?

Recent Research

Regulation

The Regulatory Burden Index: Measuring Compliance Costs Across Sectors

August 2026

Regulation

Environmental Regulation and Manufacturing Competitiveness

May 2026

Regulation

Small Business and the Federal Regulatory State

February 2026

View all Regulation research

Expert Commentary

"Sound regulation policy requires rigorous data, not ideology. That is what PolicyMatters USA delivers."

PolicyMatters USA Research Team

Explore Other Topics

Immigration

Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Trade

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Regulation

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Education

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness

Education

Education is the foundation of human capital formation and long-run economic growth. The connection between high quality education and economic prosperity of a society has been well established. Average income and education attainment levels have been positively correlated over time. The skill level of a labor force and the price of attaining those skills are key elements to a nation's standard of living and international competitiveness. How to teach, what to teach, the language to teach in, the quality of education, who goes to school and who doesn't, and who pays have been decisions challenging American educators and policy makers for decades. For more than 30 years there has been recognition by employers, parents, and policy makers America's public education system is failing. Six years on from the COVID lock downs, that process has been accelerated.

8Policy Briefs Published

Key Research Questions

01
What is the economic return on K–12 public education spending at the state level?
02
How do school choice programs affect student outcomes and public school performance?
03
What is the relationship between higher education subsidies and tuition inflation?
04
How should workforce training policy adapt to automation and labor market disruption?

Recent Research

Education

The Return on Education Spending: State-Level Evidence and Policy Implications

September 2026

Education

School Choice Economics: Vouchers, Charters, and Competition Effects

June 2026

Education

Student Loan Policy and the Higher Education Cost Spiral

March 2026

View all Education research

Expert Commentary

"Sound education policy requires rigorous data, not ideology. That is what PolicyMatters USA delivers."

PolicyMatters USA Research Team

Explore Other Topics

Immigration

Workforce, fiscal impact, and border economics

Trade

Tariffs, agreements, and America's global competitive position

Regulation

Regulatory burden, reform analysis, and economic cost measurement

Education

Human capital, school choice, and workforce readiness