IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jitecd/v17y2008i2p197-211.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is there too little immigration? An analysis of temporary skilled migration

Author

Listed:
  • Subhayu Bandyopadhyay
  • Howard Wall

Abstract

This paper presents a model of legal migration of temporary skilled workers from one source country to two host countries, both of which can control their levels of such immigration. Because of complementarities between capital and labor, the return on capital is positively related to the level of immigration. Consequently, when capital is immobile, host nations' optimal levels of immigration are positively related to their capital endowments. Further, when capital is mobile between the host nations, the common return on capital is a function of the levels of immigration in both countries, meaning that immigration is a public good. As a result, when immigration imposes costs on host countries, the Nash equilibrium results in free riding and less immigration than would occur in the cooperative equilibrium. These results are qualitatively unaltered when capital mobility extends to the source nation.

Suggested Citation

  • Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Howard Wall, 2008. "Is there too little immigration? An analysis of temporary skilled migration," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 197-211.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jitecd:v:17:y:2008:i:2:p:197-211
    DOI: 10.1080/09638190701872616
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638190701872616
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09638190701872616?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Does Immigration Grease the Wheels of the Labor Market?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 14, pages 431-484, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Klaus Zimmermann, 2005. "European Labour Mobility: Challenges and Potentials," De Economist, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 425-450, December.
    3. Wilson, John Douglas, 1999. "Theories of Tax Competition," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 52(2), pages 269-304, June.
    4. J. Behrman & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), 1995. "Handbook of Development Economics," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
    5. Rodrik, Rani, 1995. "Trade and industrial policy reform," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 45, pages 2925-2982, Elsevier.
    6. Panagariya, Arvind & Schiff, Maurice, 1994. "Can revenue maximizing export taxes yield higher welfare than welfare maximizing export taxes?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 79-84, May.
    7. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu, 1996. "Growth, welfare and optimal trade taxes: a fallacy of composition," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 369-380, August.
    8. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2005. "Rethinking the Gains from Immigration: Theory and Evidence from the U.S," NBER Working Papers 11672, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Reexamining The Impact Of Immigration On The Labor Market," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 9, pages 235-274, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Ethier, Wilfred J, 1986. "Illegal Immigration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 258-262, May.
    11. Christian Dustmann & Arthur Van Soest, 2002. "Language and the Earnings of Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(3), pages 473-492, April.
    12. J. Behrman & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), 1995. "Handbook of Development Economics," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 4.
    13. Richard B. Freeman, 2004. "Trade Wars: The Exaggerated Impact of Trade in Economic Debate," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 1-23, January.
    14. Xin Meng & Robert G. Gregory, 2005. "Intermarriage and the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 135-176, January.
    15. Ethier, Wilfred J, 1986. "Illegal Immigration: The Host-Country Problem," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(1), pages 56-71, March.
    16. Scott M. Fuess, 2003. "Immigration Policy and Highly Skilled Workers: The Case of Japan," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(2), pages 243-257, April.
    17. Bond, Eric W. & Chen, Tain-Jy, 1987. "The welfare effects of illegal immigration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3-4), pages 315-328, November.
    18. Wilson, John Douglas, 1999. "Theories of Tax Competition," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 52(n. 2), pages 269-304, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu & Wall, Howard J., 2007. "Is There Too Little Immigration?," IZA Discussion Papers 2825, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Gordon H. Hanson, 2006. "Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 869-924, December.
    3. MIYAGIWA Kaz & SATO Yasuhiro, 2015. "Illegal Immigration and Multiple Destinations," Discussion papers 15116, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Michele Peruzzi & Alessio Terzi, 2018. "Growth Accelerations Strategies," CID Working Papers 91a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    5. Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Howard J. Wall, 2010. "Immigration and Outsourcing: A General‐Equilibrium Analysis," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 433-446, August.
    6. Javier Ferri & Antonio G. Gómez-Plana & Joan Martín-Montaner, "undated". "International inmigration and mobility across sectors: an exploration of alternative scenarios for Spain," Studies on the Spanish Economy 124, FEDEA.
    7. Gordon H. Hanson & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2001. "Political economy, sectoral shocks, and border enforcement," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(3), pages 612-638, August.
    8. Kaz Miyagiwa & Yoshiyasu Ono, 2019. "Immigration and Secular Stagnation," ISER Discussion Paper 1054r, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, revised Jun 2019.
    9. Nikolaj Malchow-Møller & Jakob R. Munch & Jan Rose Skaksen, 2012. "Do Immigrants Affect Firm-Specific Wages?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1267-1295, December.
    10. Kaz Miyagiwa & Yunyun Wan, 2020. "Illegal immigrants, crime, and sanctuary cities," Discussion Papers 2012, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, revised Aug 2020.
    11. Myers, Gordon M. & Papageorgiou, Yorgos Y., 2000. "Immigration control and the welfare state," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 183-207, February.
    12. Facchini, Giovanni & Testa, Cecilia, 2021. "The rhetoric of closed borders: Quotas, lax enforcement and illegal immigration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    13. Emmanuelle Auriol & Alice Mesnard, 2016. "Sale of Visas: a Smuggler's Final Song?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 646-678, October.
    14. Mark G. Guzman & Joseph H. Haslag & Pia M. Orrenius, 2002. "Coyote crossings : the role of smugglers in illegal immigration and border enforcement," Research Working Paper RWP 02-04, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    15. Amin, Mohammad & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2006. "Can guest worker schemes reduce illegal migration ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3828, The World Bank.
    16. Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu & Pinto, Santiago M., 2017. "Unauthorized immigration and fiscal competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 283-305.
    17. Sonali Deraniyagala & Ben Fine, 2000. "New Trade Theory Versus Old Trade Policy: A Continuing Enigma," Working Papers 102, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    18. Laixun Zhao & Kenji Kondoh, 2007. "Temporary and Permanent Immigration under Unionization," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 346-358, May.
    19. Perez-Aleman, Paola, 2000. "Learning, Adjustment and Economic Development: Transforming Firms, The State and Associations in Chile," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 41-55, January.
    20. Katherine Cuff & Nicolas Marceau & Steeve Mongrain & Joanne Roberts, 2009. "Optimal Policies and the Informal Sector," Department of Economics Working Papers 2009-14, McMaster University.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:jitecd:v:17:y:2008:i:2:p:197-211. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RJTE20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.