Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?

M. Clemens

DOI:10.1257/JEP.25.3.83

Corpus ID: 59507836

Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?

@article{Clemens2011EconomicsAE,
  title={Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?},
  author={M. Clemens},
  journal={Labor: Public Policy & Regulation eJournal},
  year={2011}
}

M. Clemens

Published 2011

Economics

Labor: Public Policy & Regulation eJournal

What is the greatest single class of distortions in the global economy? One contender for this title is the tightly binding constraints on emigration from poor countries. Vast numbers of people in low-income countries want to emigrate from those countries but cannot. How large are the economic losses caused by barriers to emigration? Research on this question has been distinguished by its rarity and obscurity, but the few estimates we have should make economists' jaws hit their desks. The gains… CONTINUE READING

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