Institute of Economic Affairs Paper on Immigration and the Economic Liberty of Natives

The Institute of Economic Affairs, a prominent UK think thank, has published my paper on “Immigration and the Economic Freedom of Natives.” Here is a summary of the main points:

• Immigration restrictions severely undermine the economic freedom of receiving-country citizens, as well as that of potential migrants.

• This impact affects both the ‘negative’ economic freedom valued by libertarians, classical liberals and many conservatives, and the ‘positive’ freedom most valued by many on the political left.

• Immigration restrictions harm negative economic freedom by depriving UK citizens of the opportunity to engage in valuable transactions with migrants, such as employing them, renting property to them, buying goods and services they produce, working for businesses established by immigrants, and more.

• Restrictions harm natives’ positive freedom by depriving citizens of the production and innovation created by migrants, and especially their contributions to advances in technology and health care.

• These effects are exacerbated by the fact that immigrants disproportionately contribute to entrepreneurship and scientific innovation.

• When it comes to both positive and negative freedom, the effects of immigration restrictions are enormous – undermining both to a greater extent than virtually any other government policies adopted by liberal democracies such as the UK and US.

• Some argue that immigration actually threatens the economic freedom of natives. These concerns are largely overblown. Where valid, they can be addressed by ‘keyhole solutions’ less onerous than large-scale migration restrictions.

The paper expands on arguments developed in my 2023 Public Affairs Quarterly article on the same topic, and adapts them for a British audience.

IEA has also published a substack post (currently available only to subscribers) in which I summarize  the key themes of the paper. In July, I published an article in the Spectator on the economic benefits of immigration for Britain.

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