Guestworkers: Lessons from Western Europe

Philip L. Martin and Mark J. Miller

ILR Review, 1980, vol. 33, issue 3, 315-330

Abstract: This article appraises the postwar guestworker programs in France, Switzerland, and the Federal Republic of Germany in light of the proposal that a similar program be adopted in the United States. The authors agree that these programs provided significant short-term economic benefits in meeting the labor shortages experienced in Western Europe until recently. These programs also created several serious problems, however, leading the authors to conclude that a large-scale American temporary worker program (1) may reduce but not end illegal immigration; (2) will evolve into a resident, not short-term, worker program; (3) is likely to produce discrimination against migrant workers; (4) will not improve U.S. relations with labor-source countries; and (5) will exacerbate the employment problems of American minorities.

Date: 1980
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:33:y:1980:i:3:p:315-330

DOI: 10.1177/001979398003300303

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