Migration , co-ordination failures and EU enlargement

"European migration policies are characterised by a fundamental paradox: they are getting tighter and tighter just while public opinion is becoming more favourable to migrants and the immobility of European citizens expands the scope for spatial arbitrage, accruing the benefits, of immigration....

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Main Authors: Boeri, Tito, Brücker, Herbert
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Bonn 2005
IZA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19125040124919432229-Migration-,-co-ordination-fail.htm
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author Boeri, Tito
Brücker, Herbert
author_facet Boeri, Tito
Brücker, Herbert
collection Library items
description "European migration policies are characterised by a fundamental paradox: they are getting tighter and tighter just while public opinion is becoming more favourable to migrants and the immobility of European citizens expands the scope for spatial arbitrage, accruing the benefits, of immigration. In this paper we consider two possible explanations for this puzzle. At first, based on a computable general equilibrium model, we evaluate whether migration to "rigid labour markets" a-la European involves cost, which are neglected by economic theory. Our results suggest that the economic benefits from international migration are, at a GDP gain of 0.2-0.3% at a migration of 1% of the labour force, but that natives in the receiving countries may lose out especially when generous unemployment benefits are provided to the migrants. Then, we evaluate effects of co-ordination failures in the setting of national migration policies, documenting that a race-to-the-top in migration restrictions has indeed occurred in the case of the Eastern Enlargement of the EU and has involved significant diversion of migration from more restrictive to less restrictive countries. Finally we discuss two potential ways to invert the trend towards stricter barriers to migration, namely i) restricting access to welfare and ii) adopting an EU-wide migration policy."
format TEXT
geographic EU countries
id 19125040124919432229_ebd2c3f5a6764b1e8fa1360e71aa4bd8
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19125040124919432229_ebd2c3f5a6764b1e8fa1360e71aa4bd8
is_hierarchy_title Migration , co-ordination failures and EU enlargement
language English
physical 58 p.
Digital
publishDate 2005
publisher Bonn
IZA
spellingShingle Boeri, Tito
Brücker, Herbert
EU enlargement
labour market
migration
migration policy
statistics
welfare state
Migration , co-ordination failures and EU enlargement
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=100259192843
title Migration , co-ordination failures and EU enlargement
topic EU enlargement
labour market
migration
migration policy
statistics
welfare state
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19125040124919432229-Migration-,-co-ordination-fail.htm