Estimating the immigration multiplier: an analysis of recent Korean and Filipino immigration to the United States.

"This article explores the effect of 'chaining' through the petitioning of relatives on the demand for future immigrant visas [to the United States]. The data for the study come from a 1986 survey of 3,911 respondents from the Philippines and the Republic of Korea who were interviewed in Manila and Seoul just after they had received their U.S. immigrant visas. Analyses are conducted to derive different types of multipliers that may be used in estimating the effects of chain migration.... The empirical results for the Philippines and Korea indicate that the potential for future immigration through the family reunification entitlements of the immigration law is lower than has previously been suggested." This is a revised version of a paper originally presented at the 1987 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America (see Population Index, Vol. 53, No. 3, Fall 1987, p. 385). excerpt