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The Political Economy of Immigration Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Facchini, Giovanni
  • Mayda, Anna Maria
Abstract
We analyze a newly available dataset of migration policy decisions reported by governments to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs between 1976 and 2007. We find evidence indicating that most governments have policies aimed at either maintaining the status quo or at lowering the level of migration. We also document variation in migration policy over time and across countries of different regions and income levels. Finally, we examine patterns in various aspects of destination countries’ migration policies (policies towards family reunification, temporary vs. permanent migration, high-skilled migration). This analysis leads us to investigate the determinants of migration policy in a destination country. We develop a political economy framework in which voter attitudes represent a key component. We survey the literature on the determinants of public opinion towards immigrants and examine the link between these attitudes and governments’ policy decisions. While we find evidence broadly consistent with the median voter model, we conclude that this framework is not sufficient to understand actual migration policies. We discuss evidence which suggests that interest-groups dynamics may play a very important role.

Suggested Citation

  • Facchini, Giovanni & Mayda, Anna Maria, 2009. "The Political Economy of Immigration Policy," MPRA Paper 19179, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:19179
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jose Antonio Alonso, 2015. "Managing Labour Mobility: A Missing Pillar of Global Governance," CDP Background Papers 026, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    2. Ismael Issifou & Francesco Magris, 2017. "Migration outflows and optimal migration policy: rules versus discretion," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 16(2), pages 87-112, August.
    3. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2011. "Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 1-32, Spring.
    4. Rayp, Glenn & Ruyssen, Ilse & Standaert, Samuel, 2017. "Measuring and Explaining Cross-Country Immigration Policies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 141-163.
    5. Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich, 2018. "Behavioral determinants of proclaimed support for environment protection policies," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 26-41.
    6. David H. Bearce & Brendan J. Connell, 2023. "Government compensation and citizen support for immigration openness," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 5-27, March.
    7. Alonso José Antonio & Arteaga Francisco Javier Santos, 2020. "International migratory agreements: the paradox of adverse interest," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; immigration policy; median voter; interest groups; political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • F5 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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