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The #DiversityVisaLottery is an awesome program, and it's such a shame that people see it as a convenient political punching bag. Here's a short thread on why the diversity visa helps make America great. https://twitter.com/sdooling/status/1284501352085958657
The migration of people also means the migration of their experiences. A more diverse pool of immigrants means more diverse experiences and ways of seeing the world.
This spurs innovation through a concept called "recombination," where people bring experiences from all over the world into one place. Old ideas are fused to create new ideas. Knowledge from one country gets diffused to other countries.
@profzeke mentions an Italian doctor treating celiac patients. Italy has high rates of this disease. When the doctor came to the US, he was puzzled that few Americans had the disease. He ran analyses and found that Americans just weren't being diagnosed. https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/trump-administration-foreign-workers-visas-tech-companies-investment-money/
Without that doctor, countless Americans with celiac disease would be undiagnosed. Without recombination, we'd have fewer inventions and worse national security. Our art would also be more boring. https://thediplomat.com/2019/12/the-us-china-tech-wars-chinas-immigration-disadvantage/
In his analysis of the #DiversityVisa @JeremyLNeufeld cites research showing that even when a city's share of immigrants is constant, cities with a more diverse immigrant population have higher wages and employment growth. https://www.niskanencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/old_uploads/2018/10/Diversity-Visa-and-Skills.pdf
Jeremy also found that the Diversity Lottery's role in selecting immigrants from underrepresented countries increases the likelihood of their home country contacts applying for H1Bs, further diversifying our high skilled immigration pool. https://www.niskanencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/old_uploads/2018/10/Diversity-Visa-and-Skills.pdf
The #DiversityVisaLottery indirectly selects through merit because of its educational requirements and the combined application, travel, and interview costs. As such, diversity immigrants are better educated and have lower unemployment than Americans and other immigrants.
