Is There Too Little Immigration?
FRB of St. Louis Working Paper No. 2006-062A
21 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2006
Date Written: June 2007
Abstract
This paper presents a model of legal migration from one source country to two host countries, both of which can control their levels of immigration. Because of complementarities between capital and labor, the return on capital is positively related to the level of immigration. Consequently, when capital is immobile, host nations' optimal levels of immigration are positively related to their capital endowments. Further, when capital is mobile between the two host nations, the common return on capital is a function of the levels of immigration in both countries, meaning that immigration is a public good. As a result, when immigration imposes costs on host countries, the Nash equilibrium results in free riding and less immigration than would occur in the cooperative equilibrium. These results are qualitatively unaltered when capital mobility extends to the source nation.
Keywords: Immigration
JEL Classification: F22, J61
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Here is the Coronavirus
related research on SSRN
Recommended Papers
-
The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market
By David Card
-
Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration
By David Card
-
The Effects of Immigration on the Labor Market Outcomes of Natives
By Joseph G. Altonji and David Card
-
Searching for the Effect of Immigration on the Labor Market
By George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, ...
-
Is the New Immigration Really so Bad?
By David Card
-
Is the New Immigration Really so Bad?
By David Card
-
Is the New Immigration Really so Bad?
By David Card
