Liya Palagashvili on the Security Threat from Losing Skilled Immigrants

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Dr. Liya Palagashvili, immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and affiliated research fellow at NYU Law. Dr. Palagashvili shares findings from research she co-authored on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which fills the gap for international students between studying in the U.S. and being employed here through a work visa. The program enables America to retain talented students at just the time in their lives when they're likely to generate ideas and start businesses, but recent legislation seeks to end the program. Dr. Palagashvili explains why such a move is counterproductive and even a national security threat. Instead, she argues, reforming and making it easier to access OPT would help enhance America's edge in the global search for talent, and prevent that talent from moving to Canada, the U.K. and other countries - as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers.

Guest:

Liya Palagashvili is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her primary research interests include entrepreneurship, regulation, and the gig economy. She has published academic articles, book chapters, policy papers, and articles in media outlets such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. In 2016, she was named one of the Forbes' "30 under 30" in Law & Policy. Palagashvili was an Assistant Professor of Economics at State University of New York-Purchase and earned her Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.