Canadian Economics Research on Immigration Through the Lens of Theories of Justice

We assess the current state of knowledge in the economics of immigration and consider how economic theories of knowledge can be used to further the goal of developing a just immigration policy. In the process, we highlight the contributions of economists working in Canada and Canadian economists internationally in furthering our understanding of this important research area. We identify research gaps such as the need for more research on the underlying causes of the poor returns to foreign work experience for immigrants from non-traditional source countries and the effect of immigrants on stimulating innovation. More research is also needed on the implications of temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs and the growing importance of employers in immigrant selection systems.