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Optimal Immigration Policy: Permanent, Guest-Worker, or Mode IV?

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Author Info
Maurice Schiff () (World Bank, University of Chile and IZA)

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Abstract

Immigration continues to be on the forefront of the policy debate on both sides of the Atlantic. A number of reforms of permanent and guest-worker (GW) immigration programs are being considered, and the temporary movement of service providers under Mode IV (GATS) is being negotiated at the Doha Round of the WTO. This paper contributes to the debate by examining these programs in a model where the host country government maximizes its objective function with respect to three policy instruments: the share of migrants’ deferred income payment, the value of the bond employers must post and forfeit if GWs overstay, and the size of the program. Circular migration and illegal GWs’ status regularization are considered. The paper shows that i) the optimal value of the bond is zero, ii) Mode IV is preferable to GW migration; iii) the optimal policy package consists of Mode IV and permanent migration, and iv) incorporating circular migration improves the policy package. Additional policy implications are also provided.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3083.

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Length: 31 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3083

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Related research
Keywords: immigration; guest-worker; Mode IV; permanent; overstaying;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F20 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - General
F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Amin, Mohammad & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2005. "Does temporary migration have to be permanent?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3582, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. Amelie Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2007. "Circular Migration: Counts of Exits and Years Away from the Host Country," IZA Discussion Papers 2999, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Ruhs, Martin & Chang, Ha-Joon, 2004. "The Ethics of Labor Immigration Policy," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(01), pages 69-102, February. [Downloadable!]
  4. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1994. "Protection for Sale," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 833-50, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Dustmann, Christian, 1997. "Return migration, uncertainty and precautionary savings," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 295-316, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, 1999. "Undocumented workers in the labor market: An analysis of the earnings of legal and illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 91-116. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Avi Weiss & Arye L. Hillman & Gil S. Epstein, 1999. "Creating illegal immigrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 3-21. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. de Melo, Jaime & Grether, Jean-Marie & Müller, Tobias, 2001. "The Political Economy of International Migration in a Ricardo-Viner Model," CEPR Discussion Papers 2714, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, 2008. "A General Model of Bilateral Migration Agreements," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 755.08, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC). [Downloadable!]
  2. Gordon H. Hanson, 2008. "The Economic Consequences of the International Migration of Labor," NBER Working Papers 14490, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Docquier, Frédéric & Schiff, Maurice, 2008. "Measuring Skilled Emigration Rates: The Case of Small States," IZA Discussion Papers 3388, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Jacques Poot & Anna Strutt, 2009. "International Trade Agreements and International Migration," Working Papers in Economics 09/06, University of Waikato, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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