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The Rhetoric of Closed Borders: Quotas, Lax Enforcement and Illegal Migration

Author

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  • Facchini, Giovanni

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Testa, Cecilia

    (University of Nottingham)

Abstract
This paper studies why illegal immigration is widespread. We develop a political agency model in which a politician decides on an immigration target and its enforcement, facing uncertainty on the supply of migrants. Illegal immigration can arise for two reasons: the policy maker may be unable to enforce the target because supply is higher than expected; alternatively, he may underinvest in enforcement because of electoral concerns, and this occurs only when the incumbent and the majority of voters have different preferences over immigration. Empirical evidence provides strong support for our predictions, highlighting how electoral concerns shape illegal immigration flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Facchini, Giovanni & Testa, Cecilia, 2014. "The Rhetoric of Closed Borders: Quotas, Lax Enforcement and Illegal Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 8457, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8457
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. "The Rhetoric of Closed Borders"
      by Mark Thoma in Economist's View on 2011-04-28 12:15:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuelle Auriol & Alice Mesnard, 2016. "Sale of Visas: a Smuggler's Final Song?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 646-678, October.
    2. Alessandra Casarico & Giovanni Facchini & Tommaso Frattini, 2012. "Spending more is spending less: on the desirability of enforcing migration," Norface Discussion Paper Series 2012006, Norface Research Programme on Migration, Department of Economics, University College London.
    3. Russo, Giuseppe & Salsano, Francesco, 2019. "Electoral systems and immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Verena Löffler, 2021. "Questioning the feasibility and justice of basic income accounting for migration," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 273-314, August.
    5. Casarico, Alessandra & Facchini, Giovanni & Frattini, Tommaso, 2018. "What drives the legalization of immigrants? Evidence from IRCA," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 258-273.
    6. Giovanni Facchini & Cecilia Testa, 2015. "The Political Economy of Migration Enforcement: Domestic Versus Border Control," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 61(3-4), pages 701-721.
    7. Slobodan Djajić & Michael S. Michael, 2014. "Controlling Illegal Immigration: On the Scope for Cooperation with a Transit Country," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 808-824, September.
    8. Biavaschi, Costanza & Elsner, Benjamin, 2013. "Let's Be Selective about Migrant Self-Selection," IZA Discussion Papers 7865, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Alessandra Casarico & Giovanni Facchini & Cecilia Testa, 2017. "Asylum Policy and Illegal Immigration: Perspectives and Challenges," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(04), pages 14-20, February.
    10. Alessandra Casarico & Giovanni Facchini & Tommaso Frattini, 2012. "Spending More is Spending Less: Policy Dilemmas on Irregular Migration," Development Working Papers 330, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 27 Mar 2012.
    11. Hakan İnal, 2015. "Voting over law enforcement: mission impossible," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 349-360, August.
    12. repec:ces:ifodic:v:14:y:2017:i:4:p:19271454 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Park, Brian, 2022. "Rethinking border enforcement, permanent and circular migration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    14. Carlo Devillanova & Francesco Fasani & Tommaso Frattini, 2014. "Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1415, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    15. Auriol, A. & Mesnard, A., 2013. "Sale of visas: a smuggler's final song?," Working Papers 13/06, Department of Economics, City University London.
    16. Alessandra Casarico & Giovanni Facchini & Tommaso Frattini, 2012. "What Drives Immigration Amnesties?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3981, CESifo.
    17. Julide Yazar & Robert J. Gitter, 2023. "Border Games: A Game Theoretic Model of Undocumented Immigration," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, August.
    18. Gelan, Ayele & Al-Shamali, Shaima & Awadh, Wafa, 2023. "Economic and welfare effects of immigration policy: Lessons from the experience of Kuwait," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1015-1035.
    19. Emmanuelle Auriol & Alice Mesnard, 2016. "Sale of Visas: a Smuggler's Final Song?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 646-678, October.
    20. Alessandra Casarico & Giovanni Facchini & Tommaso Frattini, 2015. "Illegal Immigration: Policy Perspectives and Challenges," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 61(3-4), pages 673-700.
    21. Slobodan Djajic & Michael S. Michael, 2016. "Illegal Immigration, Foreign Aid, and the Transit Countries," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 62(3), pages 572-593.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration policy; illegal immigration; political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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