Controlling irregular migration: Can a market for Temporary Foreign Work Permits help?
Channel: UNU MERIT
Date: 2021-11-17

Prof. Emmanuelle Auriol, Toulouse School of Economics

"Controlling irregular migration: Can a market for Temporary Foreign Work Permits help?" by Emmanuelle Auriol,  Alice Mesnard, and Tiffanie Perrault

We model the supply of human smuggling services and the demand from workers in low-wage countries and study how temporary visa schemes can be designed to drive smugglers out of business while meeting labor market needs in host countries. The policy trade-off between migration control and liberalized borders can be overcome by combining internal and external controls with a regulated market for temporary visas. On this market, visa duration and price are set at 'eviction' levels -i.e. to throttle smugglers' businesses. We use information on irregular migrants from Senegal to Spain and the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa to calibrate eviction prices of visas and subsequent variations in migration flows. Our results highlight important constraints for governments seeking to prevent temporary workers' overstay, especially on South-North routes.%, and discuss the viability of such schemes.


About the speaker

Emmanuelle Auriol is a full professor at Toulouse School of Economics. Her research interests include industrial organization, regulation, labor, and development economics. Throughout the years she received several grants and awards for her research, which has been published in top international journals. Her research has also been featured in stories in the press, on television, and on the radio. She regularly collaborates on research and training contracts with the French Development Agency and the World Bank.  She chaired from 2015 to 2018 the EEA Standing Committee on Women in Economics (WinE).