Welfare generosity and location choices among new United States immigrants

Abstract

This paper extends the limited research that investigates the determinants of location choices among new United States immigrants. Unlike previous work, this study employs data that includes country of birth, major categories of admission, and state of intended residence for each new immigrant. Additionally, due to censoring concerns in immigration data this study uses a Tobit estimation technique. The results suggest significant correlation between immigrant inflow and welfare generosity. Furthermore, the welfare motivation seems to be equally pervasive in every major category of admission among new immigrants.