A study using the H‑1B visa lottery as a natural experiment finds firms that win more visas are more likely to IPO or be acquired, secure elite VC, and file more (and more‑cited) patents. Roughly one additional high‑skill hire lifted a startup’s five‑year IPO chance by 23% (1.5 percentage points on a 6.6% base).
— This offers causal evidence that capping high‑skill visas suppresses innovation and firm success, sharpening debates over U.S. immigration and industrial strategy.
2025.10.07
56% relevant
This piece challenges that study’s 'talent shortage' narrative by asserting that visa flows (H‑1B, OPT, etc.) in computer occupations approach 82% of U.S. CS grads and correlate with stagnant starting salaries and lower post‑grad employment, directly contesting the claimed benefits of capped high‑skill visas.
Tyler Cowen
2025.09.24
86% relevant
The article highlights a 'rigorous new study' where firms winning H‑1B hiring lotteries produced 27% more without reducing native employment, mirroring the existing idea’s evidence that lottery‑driven H‑1B access causally boosts firm performance and innovation.
Alex Tabarrok
2025.09.20
100% relevant
Tabarrok quotes Dimmock–Huang–Weisbenner’s H‑1B lottery paper and the 23% IPO increase from an extra high‑skill worker.