Selecting only the best and brightest? An assessment of migration policy selectivity and its effectiveness

Glen Rayp, Ilse Ruysssen and Samuel Standaert
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Glen Rayp: Ghent University
Ilse Ruysssen: UNU-CRIS
Samuel Standaert: Ghent University

JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, 2024, vol. 90, issue 3, 352-383

Abstract: This paper introduces a new set of comprehensive and cross-country-comparable indexes of migration policy selectivity. Crucially, these reflect the multidimensional nature of the differential treatment of migrants. We use these indexes to study the evolution of migration policy selectivity and estimate how they affect migration flows. Combining all publicly available and relevant data since WWII, we build three composite indexes that identify selectivity in terms of skills, economic resources and nationality. First, we use these to characterize migration policies in 42 countries between 1990 and 2014. Second, we examine the relationship between the selectivity of migration policy and migration flows. Each of the three dimensions of migration policy is found to correlate strongly and significantly with both the size and structure of migration flows.

Keywords: Effectiveness; International migration; Migration policy; Selectivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C32 C43 F22 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:90:y:2024:i:3:p:352-383

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