Friday 29th October: Too Many Immigrants?

This week Oliver will present Too many immigrants? Immigration policies in times of economic crisis.

Despite some convergence on income levels across countries, the gap between rich and poor remains wide. This incentivises people in developing countries to look for better opportunities in developed countries. But in times of economic crises, restricting immigration becomes a widespread popular demand in developed countries like the UK and the US. What should be the immigration policy for developed countries both in the long run and in times of economic crises?

· Should countries like the US persist on current policies despite the huge amount of illegal immigration?

· What should be done with illegal immigrants?

· Should they be rewarded with amnesties even though they broke the law?

· Should their presence be tolerated, even though they free ride on welfare state?

· What about their children (14th Amendment)?

· Should immigration caps be implemented, as proposed by the current UK government?

· Or should we implement new radical policies, like the one suggested by Gary Becker: Except obvious exceptions, anyone who pays say $50.000, should be allowed in

· What if the increasing immigration leads to a undesirable shift of values in developed societies?

· Should illegal as opposed to legal immigration be encouraged, as suggested by some libertarian economists?

Some background links:

Gary Becker's proposal: http://www.vimeo.com/12809147

Samuel Hunington's controversial essay: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2004/03/01/the_hispanic_challenge

Pritchett and Clemens argue for immigration as development aid: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/15552/