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Economic Migration: On What Terms?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2021

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Abstract

I investigate whether wealthy democratic states should liberalize economic migration and, if so, on what terms. Is it permissible for the state to restrict economic migration as a form of labor market protection? If so, under what conditions? If not, why not? I argue that even granting that states have a right to control their borders and to prioritize the interests of their inhabitants, there is good reason to liberalize permanent low-skilled migration, so long as this is paired with appropriate social policies.

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Perspectives on Politics , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , pp. 983 - 998
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© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

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