Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

Publications

 

Don't Close the Golden Door: Making Immigration Policy Work for Development (White House and the World Policy Brief)

8/22/08
Michael Clemens

International movements of people can spark and sustain the development process in poor countries, helping people climb out of poverty. Creating opportunities for poor people to improve their lives promotes our values, enhances our security,and restores our faltering image abroad. The next president of the United States has an opportunity to advance a migration agenda that is one of several pillars of our leadership position on global development. CGD research fellow Michael Clemens shows how.

Bilateral Guest Worker Agreements: A win-win solution for rich countries and poor people in the developing world

4/25/07

Increased labor mobility offers potentially huge gains for the developing and developed world, but migration is massively unpopular in rich countries. In this CGD Brief, non-resident fellow Lant Pritchett lays out a solution that is beneficial to poor people and potentially politically acceptable to rich country voters: temporary legal work programs negotiated bilaterally, with rich countries certifying labor shortages in specific industries and labor-sending countries ensuring that temporary workers return home. On Thursday, May 17th Lant will answer your questions live online at Ask CGD. Submit a question nowLearn more

The Global Migration of Talent: What Does it Mean for Developing Countries?

10/13/05
Devesh Kapur and John McHale

Human capital flows from poor countries to rich countries are large and growing. A leading cause is the increasing skill-focus of immigration policy in a number of leading industrialized countries—a trend that is likely to intensify as rich countries age and competitive pressures build in knowledge-intensive sectors. The implications for development are complex and poorly understood.

Filter by publication type:

Expert

Initiative

Date