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Journal ArticleDOI

Economic research and labour immigration policy

Martin Ruhs1
01 Oct 2008-Oxford Review of Economic Policy (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 24, Iss: 3, pp 403-426
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the implications of economic theories and research for regulating the number, selection, and rights of migrant workers in high-income countries, and examine the asymmetric economic interests of migrant-receiving and migrant-sending countries in the debate over the "optimal" design of labour immigration policy.
Abstract: The design of labour immigration policy requires nation states to make fundamental decisions on how to regulate: (i) the number of migrants to be admitted; (ii) the selection of migrants; and, (iii) the rights of migrants after admission. In practice, the debate over these three elements of immigration policy involves a wide range of economic, social, legal, moral, and political considerations. Recognizing the inherent inter-disciplinarity of the subject, this paper focuses on the implications of economic theories and research for regulating the number, selection, and rights of migrant workers in high-income countries. It examines the asymmetric economic interests of migrant-receiving and migrant-sending countries in the debate over the ‘optimal’ design of labour immigration policy and, in light of this analysis, provides a brief economic assessment of the core components of labour immigration policy in the UK.
Citations
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ReportDOI
TL;DR: The authors surveys recent empirical studies on the economic impacts of immigration and examines the magnitude of immigration as an economic phenomenon in various host countries and the assimilation of immigrant workers into host-country labor markets and concomitant effects for natives.
Abstract: This paper surveys recent empirical studies on the economic impacts of immigration. The survey first examines the magnitude of immigration as an economic phenomenon in various host countries. The second part deals with the assimilation of immigrant workers into host-country labor markets and concomitant effects for natives. The paper then turns to immigration's impact for the public finances of host countries. The final section considers emerging topics in the study of immigration. The survey particularly emphasizes the recent experiences of Northern Europe and Scandinavia and relevant lessons from traditional destination countries like the US. (JEL: H53, J23, J31, J61, J68)

352 citations


Cites background from "Economic research and labour immigr..."

  • ...Ruhs (2008) reviewed the considerations inherent in immigration policy with particular application to the UK s framework....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The global economic crisis that exploded in 2008 dramatically changed the context for international migration as discussed by the authors, and this review article addresses four related questions about migration in the context of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Abstract: The global economic crisis that exploded in 2008 dramatically changed the context for international migration. In that context, this review article addresses four related questions about migration ...

101 citations


Cites background from "Economic research and labour immigr..."

  • ...Migration also acts to diminish huge cross-national income differences, bringing significant income benefits to the average migrant (Hanson, 2009a; Korzeniewicz and Moran, 2009; Ruhs, 2008)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explored whether immigration's effects are mediated by the economic and social integration of immigrants and found that economic integration, more than sociocultural integration, softens the tendency of immigration to undermine support for redistributive policies.
Abstract: Immigration poses individual or collective economic risks that might increase citizen support for government redistribution, but it can also generate fiscal pressure or undermine social solidarity to diminish such support. These offsetting conditions obscure the net effects of immigration for welfare states. This article explores whether immigration's effects are mediated by the economic and social integration of immigrants. Integration can be conceptualized and measured as involving the degree to which immigrants suffer unemployment rates, depend on welfare-state benefits, and harbor social attitudes similarly to the native population. Such integration may alter how immigration reduces solidarity and imposes fiscal and macroeconomic pressures, but does not much alter how immigration spurs economic risks for natives. Where migrants are more integrated by such measures, immigration should have less negative or more positive implications for native support for government redistribution and welfare states than where migrants are less integrated. The article explores these arguments using survey data for twenty-two European countries between 2002 and 2010. The principal finding is that economic integration, more than sociocultural integration, softens the tendency of immigration to undermine support for redistributive policies.

77 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found no evidence in favour of this hypothesis and showed that immigration does have a relatively modest effect on the welfare state, if anything there is some support for the view that a greater influx of immigrants has lead policy-makers to increase welfare state spending.

66 citations

References
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01 Jan 1988
Abstract: This paper considers the prospects for constructing a neoclassical theory of growth and international trade that is consistent with some of the main features of economic development. Three models are considered and compared to evidence: a model emphasizing physical capital accumulation and technological change, a model emphasizing human capital accumulation through schooling, and a model emphasizing specialized human capital accumulation through learning-by-doing.

19,093 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a fully specified model of long-run growth in which knowledge is assumed to be an input in production that has increasing marginal productivity, which is essentially a competitive equilibrium model with endogenous technological change.
Abstract: This paper presents a fully specified model of long-run growth in which knowledge is assumed to be an input in production that has increasing marginal productivity. It is essentially a competitive equilibrium model with endogenous technological change. In contrast to models based on diminishing returns, growth rates can be increasing over time, the effects of small disturbances can be amplified by the actions of private agents, and large countries may always grow faster than small countries. Long-run evidence is offered in support of the empirical relevance of these possibilities.

18,200 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the prospects for constructing a neoclassical theory of growth and international trade that is consistent with some of the main features of economic development, and compare three models and compared to evidence.

16,965 citations

Book
01 Jun 1979
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of migration on the place of origin and the dilemmas of current U.S. immigration policy are discussed. But the authors focus on the long-distance migration in the United States.
Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. The jobs 3. The migrants 4. Particular characteristics of the migrant labour market 5. The impact of migration on the place of origin 6. The historical evolution of long-distance migration in the United States 7. The dilemmas of current U.S. immigration policy.

1,629 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: The available evidence suggests that the economic benefits from immigration for the United States are small, on the order of $6 billion and almost certainly less than $20 billion annually.
Abstract: Natives benefit from immigration mainly because of production complementarities between immigrant workers and other factors of production, and these benefits are larger when immigrants are sufficiently `different' from the stock of native productive inputs. The available evidence suggests that the economic benefits from immigration for the United States are small, on the order of $6 billion and almost certainly less than $20 billion annually. These gains, however, could be increased considerably if the United States pursued an immigration policy which attracted a more skilled immigrant flow.

867 citations