Sharing the Risks and Rewards of Economic Migration

Abstract

International cooperation on economic migration has been difficult to achieve. The interests of emigration countries (“source countries”) and immigration countries (“destination countries”) seem impossible to align. These countries disagree on who should migrate: source countries resist migration that leads to a brain drain, while destination countries welcome these very migrants given that they are likely to be the most productive citizens and the least likely to become fiscal burdens on the destination country. In addition, destination countries resist migration that leads to domestic unemployment through labor replacement. As a result, international economic migration remains restricted at a substantial cost to world welfare.