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If People were Money: Estimating the Potential Gains from Increased International Migration

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  • Jonathon W. Moses
  • Bjørn Letnes

Abstract

In this paper we elaborate on the findings produced by an applied equilibrium model that is used to calculate the annual efficiency gains from free international migration. These findings suggest that we can expect significant gains from liberalizing international labour flows. In particular, we expand on two implicit aspects of the estimates: the actual number of migrants being generated by the various counter-factual scenarios, and the per-migrant cost/benefits associated with each.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathon W. Moses & Bjørn Letnes, 2003. "If People were Money: Estimating the Potential Gains from Increased International Migration," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2003-41, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2003-41
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/dp2003-41.pdf
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