UC Irvine economics professors Francesca Mazzolari (pictured) and David Neumark have received a $35,000 Labor and Employment Research Fund award from the UC Office of the President to study the economic impact Asian and Hispanic immigrants have on local communities. Using data from population and business surveys, Mazzolari and Neumark’s study will be one of the first to look at the effects of immigration in terms of increases in product and service demands — a point they argue may actually be helping communities with large immigrant populations. “Our project will estimate to what extent immigrants raise the demand for U.S. workers through their consumption and the induced rise in product and labor demand,” Mazzolari said. The project will span about one year, ending in December.