Professor Zeke Hernandez from Wharton School tests Americans' knowledge on immigration in a quiz. Topics include debunking myths on poverty rates among immigrants, green card allocations, and assimilation. Guests reflect on the complexities of immigration, stereotypes, and the importance of understanding personal backgrounds in the discourse.
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Quick takeaways
Overestimation of global immigrant population due to media bias and misinformation.
Misconception of immigrant families' economic status with immigrant children often having higher income.
Deep dives
Immigration Quiz: World's Immigrant Population Percentage
When quizzed on the percentage of the world's population composed of immigrants, the participant incorrectly estimated it at 33%, while the correct figure stood at 3.6%. This misconception reflects a common tendency to overestimate immigrant presence due to skewed media portrayals and headlines creating a perception of a larger issue than reality.
Immigration Quiz: US Foreign-Born Population
In the quiz focusing on the percentage of the US population that is foreign-born, the participant guessed 9%, which was slightly below the actual figure of 14%. The participant attributed this estimation to prevalent media coverage of immigration crises, leading to a perception of a higher foreign-born populace.
Immigration Quiz: Children of US Native and Immigrant Parents
During the quiz on the economic status of children born to US native versus immigrant parents, the participant selected 28% when asked for the percentage of high-income earners among children of immigrant parents. The correct figure was higher at 35%, highlighting a common misconception that immigrant families are generally poorer when statistically, the opposite holds true.
The political debates over immigration can generate a lot of fuzzy facts. We wanted to test Americans’ knowledge — so, to wrap up our special series on immigration, we called some Freakonomics Radio listeners and quizzed them.
SOURCES:
Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.