A Case Against Taxes and Quotas on High-Skill Emigration

45 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2014

See all articles by Michael A. Clemens

Michael A. Clemens

George Mason University; Peterson Institute for International Economics; IZA-Institute for the Study of Labor; Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration; Center for Global Development

Date Written: May 1, 2014

Abstract

Skilled workers have a rising tendency to emigrate from developing countries, raising fears that their departure harms the poor. To mitigate such harm, researchers have proposed a variety of policies designed to tax or restrict high-skill migration. Those policies have been justified as Pigovian regulations to raise efficiency by internalizing externalities, and as non-Pigovian regulations grounded in equity or ethics. This paper challenges both sets of justifications, arguing that Pigovian regulations on skilled emigration are inefficient and non-Pigovian regulations are inequitable and unethical. It concludes by discussing a different class of policy intervention that, in contrast, has the potential to raise welfare.

Keywords: brain drain, migration, immigration, emigration, mobility, labor, skill, education, human capital

JEL Classification: F22, J24, O15

Suggested Citation

Clemens, Michael Andrew, A Case Against Taxes and Quotas on High-Skill Emigration (May 1, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2458071 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2458071

Michael Andrew Clemens (Contact Author)

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Peterson Institute for International Economics ( email )

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Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration ( email )

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Center for Global Development ( email )

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