ECN 117 Final Exam Review Questions and 100% Correct Answers Latest 2026/27 Update - University of
California
The highest grades will be given to clear and precise answers. Use your time wisely, and good luck. You
will be given 100 minutes to complete the exam. There are total of 75 points in the exam, so you should
allocate about 1 minutes per point.
A. [2 points each, total of 58 points]. Multiple choice questions
1. Assume that you are interested in measuring whether refugees assimilate faster than economic
immigrants. However, you only have access to data following “cohorts” of refugees and economic
immigrants over time (that is, you do not have panel data). Assume that economic immigrants only
stay in the destination country if they are doing well in the labor market. In contrast, refugees stay
at the destination country regardless of their labor market outcomes. Such behavior would result
in:
a. Underestimating the progress of refugees relative to economic immigrants
b. Overestimating the progress of refugees relative to economic immigrants
c. Neither underestimating nor underestimating the relative progress of refugees and
economic migrants
d. Overestimate the progress of economic immigrants relative to natives
e. a and d
2. Assume that, from 2010 to 2020, US official statistics show that the country received a total of 80
authorized immigrants. In the same period, 20 authorized immigrants returned to their countries
of origin and 10 authorized immigrants died. If the total immigrant population in the US was 100
in 2010 and 150 in 2020, what was the net change in the size of the unauthorized immigrant
population in the period?
a. A decline of 20
b. A decline of 10
c. No change
d. An increase of 10
e. An increase of 20
3. Cortes (2004) article on the economic assimilation of refugees finds that:
a. Refugees do worse than economic immigrants upon arrival, and continue to do worse
throughout their stay in the US
b. Refugees do worse than economic immigrants upon arrival, but catch up with them
over time
c. Refugees are similar to economic immigrants in that both groups do not converge to the
outcomes of natives
d. Refugees do better than economic immigrants upon arrival, but economic immigrants end
up catching up with them
e. Refugees do better than economic immigrants upon arrival, and keep their advantage
over time
ECN 117 Economics of international migrations
, 4. The immigration and reform act of 1986 (IRCA) established:
a. An amnesty program that legalized 2.7 million immigrants
b. Increase in funding for border enforcement
c. A diversity lottery to allocate permanent residencies to countries with few immigrants in
the US
d. a and b
e. a, b and c
5. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 gives the highest priority to migrate to the US to:
a. Individuals holding a PhD in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
fields
b. Professionals in the health sector, including doctors and nurses
c. Immigrants from countries suffering an economic crisis
d. Immigrants from Europe
e. Direct family members of US citizens
6. Relative to immigrants in the US, immigrants in Canada:
a. Are more likely to be admitted for economic reasons
b. Have higher levels of education
c. Have a smaller “entry earnings gap” (i.e. a smaller difference in wages between
immigrants and natives upon immigrants’ arrival)
d. a and b
e. a, b and c
7. US migration policy is characterized by the following:
a. Most permanent residencies are granted to family members of US citizens
b. Most permanent residencies are granted to highly educated workers being sponsored by
their employers
c. There is no annual cap on the number of permanent residencies granted to siblings of US
citizens
d. About 55,000 permanent residences are granted through a lottery
e. a and d
8. Assume you want to measure the effects of remittances on the families of Argentine migrants left
behind. Half of Argentine migrants live in the US and the remaining half lives in Europe. Assume
that, because of a financial crisis affecting the Americas, the Argentine peso depreciated relative
to the Euro (but the Argentine peso neither appreciated nor depreciated relative to the US dollar).
Following the approach in Yang (2004), which groups of families would you compare to measure
the effects of remittances on families left behind?
a. Argentine families with a family member in Europe, to Argentine families with no family
members abroad
b. Argentine families with a family member in the US, to Argentine families with no family
members abroad
c. Argentine Families with family members in the US, to Argentine families with
family members in Europe
d. Argentine Families with family members in Europe, to Brazilian families with family
members in Europe
ECN 117 Economics of international migrations
California
The highest grades will be given to clear and precise answers. Use your time wisely, and good luck. You
will be given 100 minutes to complete the exam. There are total of 75 points in the exam, so you should
allocate about 1 minutes per point.
A. [2 points each, total of 58 points]. Multiple choice questions
1. Assume that you are interested in measuring whether refugees assimilate faster than economic
immigrants. However, you only have access to data following “cohorts” of refugees and economic
immigrants over time (that is, you do not have panel data). Assume that economic immigrants only
stay in the destination country if they are doing well in the labor market. In contrast, refugees stay
at the destination country regardless of their labor market outcomes. Such behavior would result
in:
a. Underestimating the progress of refugees relative to economic immigrants
b. Overestimating the progress of refugees relative to economic immigrants
c. Neither underestimating nor underestimating the relative progress of refugees and
economic migrants
d. Overestimate the progress of economic immigrants relative to natives
e. a and d
2. Assume that, from 2010 to 2020, US official statistics show that the country received a total of 80
authorized immigrants. In the same period, 20 authorized immigrants returned to their countries
of origin and 10 authorized immigrants died. If the total immigrant population in the US was 100
in 2010 and 150 in 2020, what was the net change in the size of the unauthorized immigrant
population in the period?
a. A decline of 20
b. A decline of 10
c. No change
d. An increase of 10
e. An increase of 20
3. Cortes (2004) article on the economic assimilation of refugees finds that:
a. Refugees do worse than economic immigrants upon arrival, and continue to do worse
throughout their stay in the US
b. Refugees do worse than economic immigrants upon arrival, but catch up with them
over time
c. Refugees are similar to economic immigrants in that both groups do not converge to the
outcomes of natives
d. Refugees do better than economic immigrants upon arrival, but economic immigrants end
up catching up with them
e. Refugees do better than economic immigrants upon arrival, and keep their advantage
over time
ECN 117 Economics of international migrations
, 4. The immigration and reform act of 1986 (IRCA) established:
a. An amnesty program that legalized 2.7 million immigrants
b. Increase in funding for border enforcement
c. A diversity lottery to allocate permanent residencies to countries with few immigrants in
the US
d. a and b
e. a, b and c
5. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 gives the highest priority to migrate to the US to:
a. Individuals holding a PhD in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
fields
b. Professionals in the health sector, including doctors and nurses
c. Immigrants from countries suffering an economic crisis
d. Immigrants from Europe
e. Direct family members of US citizens
6. Relative to immigrants in the US, immigrants in Canada:
a. Are more likely to be admitted for economic reasons
b. Have higher levels of education
c. Have a smaller “entry earnings gap” (i.e. a smaller difference in wages between
immigrants and natives upon immigrants’ arrival)
d. a and b
e. a, b and c
7. US migration policy is characterized by the following:
a. Most permanent residencies are granted to family members of US citizens
b. Most permanent residencies are granted to highly educated workers being sponsored by
their employers
c. There is no annual cap on the number of permanent residencies granted to siblings of US
citizens
d. About 55,000 permanent residences are granted through a lottery
e. a and d
8. Assume you want to measure the effects of remittances on the families of Argentine migrants left
behind. Half of Argentine migrants live in the US and the remaining half lives in Europe. Assume
that, because of a financial crisis affecting the Americas, the Argentine peso depreciated relative
to the Euro (but the Argentine peso neither appreciated nor depreciated relative to the US dollar).
Following the approach in Yang (2004), which groups of families would you compare to measure
the effects of remittances on families left behind?
a. Argentine families with a family member in Europe, to Argentine families with no family
members abroad
b. Argentine families with a family member in the US, to Argentine families with no family
members abroad
c. Argentine Families with family members in the US, to Argentine families with
family members in Europe
d. Argentine Families with family members in Europe, to Brazilian families with family
members in Europe
ECN 117 Economics of international migrations
