R. BERLINSCHI, M. P. SQUICCIARINI
Copyright © 2013 SciRe s . 145
Conclusion
Many Western voters seem to underestimate the benefits that
immigrants bring to their country. Policy makers concerned
with winning elections therefore do not campaign for reducing
immigration barriers, even though such policies could bring
huge economic benefits according to scientific studies. Once in
power, policy makers face the trade-off between stimulating the
economy by increasing immigration, and being perceived as
keeping electoral promises by restricting immigration. The
solution to this trade-off may be maintaining strong barriers to
legal migration, while turning a blind eye on undocumented
migration. Even though undocumented immigrants may bring
fewer economic benefits, as they only work in some specific
sectors and pay less taxes, such a strategy may allow policy
makers to help some economic sectors and in the same time
avoid being perceived as too immigration-friendly, since by
definition, undocumented migrants are not allowed to reside in
the country. This argument may partly explain why some west-
ern governments have been silently allowing hundreds of thou-
sands of undocumented migrants to participate in their econo-
mies, while keeping strong restrictions on legal migration
channels.
Acknowledgements
We thank A. Ariu, G. De Luca, and J. Fidrmuc for their
comments and suggestions. M.P.S. gratefully acknowledges
financial support from FWO-Flanders.
REFERENCES
Anderson, K., & Winters, L. A. (2008). The challenge of reducing
international trade and migration barriers. CEPR Discussion Paper
6760.
Auerbach, A. J., & Oreopoulos, P. (1999). Analyzing the fiscal impact
of US immigration. American Economic Review, 89, 176-180.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.2.176
Berlinschi, R., & Squicciarini, M. P. (2011). On the political economy
of illegal immigration. Working paper .
Card, D. (2001). Immigrant inflows, native outflows and the local labor
market impacts of higher immigration. Journal of Labour Economics,
19, 22-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/209979
Chellaraj, G., Maskus, K. E., & Mattoo, A. (2008). The contribution of
skilled immigration and international graduate students to US inno-
vation. Review of International Economics, 16, 444-462.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9396.2007.00714.x
Clemens, M. (2011). Economics and emigration: Trillion-dollar bills on
the sidewalk? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25, 83-106.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.25.3.83
European Commision (2006). Eurobarometer Survey.
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm
European Commision (2013). Eurobarometer Survey.
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm
Facchini, G., & Testa, C. (2010). The rhetoric of closed borders: Quo-
tas, lax enforcement and illegal migration. NORFACE MIGRA-
TION Discussion Paper No. 2010-1.
Fasani, F. (2009). Deporting undocumented immigrants. The role of
labour demand shocks. Mimeo: University College London.
Friedberg, R. M., & Hunt, J. (1995). The impact of immigrants on host
country wages, employment and growth. Journal of Economic Per-
spectives, 9, 23-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.9.2.23
Hillmann, A. L., & Weiss, A. (1999). A theory of permissible illegal
immigration. European Journal of Political Economy, 15, 585-604.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0176-2680(99)00039-7
Hunt, J., & Gauthier-Lauselle, M. (2008). How much does immigration
boost innovation? NBE R W orking Paper No. 14312.
Lee, R., & Miller, T. (2000). Immigration, social security, and broader
fiscal impacts. American Economic Review, 90, 350-354.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.90.2.350
Mayda, A. M. (2006). Who is against immigration? A cross country
investigation of individual attitudes towards immigrants. Review of
Economics and Statistics, 88, 510-530.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/rest.88.3.510
McCluskey, J., & Swinnen, J. (2004). Political economy of the media
and consumer perceptions of biotechnology. American Journal of
Agricultural Economics, 86, 1230-1237.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0002-9092.2004.00670.x
O’Rourke, K., & Sinnott, R. (2006). The determinants of individual
attitudes towards immigration. European Journal of Political Econ-
omy, 22, 838-861. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2005.10.005
Ortega, F., & Peri, G. (2009) The causes and effects of international
labor mobility: Evidence from OECD countries 1980-2005. Human
Development Research Paper 6, New York: United Nations Devel-
opment Program (UNDP).
Putnam, R. (2007). E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the
twenty-first century. Scandinavian Political Studies, 30, 137-174.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2005.10.005
Scheve, K. F., & Slaughter, M. J. (2001). Labor-market competition
andindividual preferences over immigration policy. Review of Eco-
nomics and Statistics, 83, 133-145.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/003465301750160108
Swinnen, J., & Heinz, M. (2013). Media bias in economic news: A
factor 20. LICOS DP 330.