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Tradable immigration quotas

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  • Fernández-Huertas Moraga, Jesús
  • Rapoport, Hillel

Abstract

International migration is maybe the single most effective way to alleviate global poverty. When a given host country allows more immigrants in, this creates costs and benefits for that particular country as well as a positive externality for individuals and governments who care about world poverty. Host countries quite often restrict immigration due to its important social and political costs, however these costs are never measured and made comparable across countries. In this paper we first show theoretically that tradable immigration quotas (TIQs) can reveal countries' comparative advantages in hosting immigrants and — once coupled with a matching mechanism taking migrants' preferences over destinations and countries' preferences over migrants' types into account — allow for exploiting them efficiently. We then discuss three potential applications: a market for the resettlement of international refugees, a market for the resettlement of migrants displaced by climate change, and the creation of an OECD poverty-reduction visa program adapted from the US green card lottery.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernández-Huertas Moraga, Jesús & Rapoport, Hillel, 2014. "Tradable immigration quotas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 94-108.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:115:y:2014:i:c:p:94-108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.04.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Immigration policy; Tradable quotas; Refugee resettlement; Climate change; International public goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F5 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy
    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • K33 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - International Law

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