Jason Richwine

Jason Richwine
Born	(1982-04-21) April 21, 1982 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	BA American University (political science) 2004 BS American University (mathematics) 2004 PhD Harvard University (public policy) 2009
Occupation	Writer, commentator, analyst, economic consultant
Website	JasonRichwine.com

Jason Matthew Richwine (born April 21, 1982) is an American conservative public-policy analyst and commentator who is best known for his politically controversial views on immigration and IQ. In 2013, while working for the Heritage Foundation he co-authored a controversial report released by the Foundation on the economic costs of illegal immigration to the United States which concluded that passing the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 would cost taxpayers more than $6 trillion. This work included human biodiversity research that was considered highly politically incorrect. The report triggered many allegations of racism from generally left-wing but also some far-left and mainstream conservative critics, and ultimately led to his resignation.

Education

Richwine received his bachelors' degree in mathematics and political science from American University, graduating in 2004. He then enrolled at Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 2009 in public policy, with a dissertation entitled "IQ and Immigration Policy". This dissertation claimed that illegal Hispanic immigrants to America, who are sometimes categorized among non-Asian minorities, had lower measured IQs than non-Hispanic whites, and that this disparity persisted for at least several generations, if not indefinitely. The dissertation committee was composed of economist Richard Zeckhauser, economist George Borjas, and Christopher Jencks, the social scientist and editor of The American Prospect. Richwine subsequently wrote an often cited article for Politico defending his dissertation and arguing that the statements it contained about ethnic differences in IQ were "scientifically unremarkable".

Career

Prior to working at Heritage, Richwine worked briefly at the American Enterprise Institute; while there, he wrote a book review in The American Conservative criticizing Richard E. Nisbett's book "Intelligence and How to Get It" as being based on wishful thinking. In 2010, he wrote two pieces about immigration and crime for the online magazine AlternativeRight.com in response to a Ron Unz essay covering the same topic in The American Conservative. After a study co-authored by Richwine regarding the costs of illegal immigration was released by the Heritage Foundation, Washington Post reporter Dylan Matthews found the dissertation and wrote a blog post about it on May 8, 2013. Richwine resigned from the Foundation two days later.

Aside from immigration and IQ, he also writes frequently on issues such as school choice, and against common core, the Department of Education, and the politicization of science, and in favor of pension reform. As of 2013, Richwine works as a writer for the National Review. He has continued his politically controversial research, writing papers which have appeared in publications of the Center for Immigration Studies with titles such as "The Cost of Welfare Use by Immigrant and Native Households" and "Immigrant Literacy: Self-Assessment Vs. Reality".