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A Case Against Taxes and Quotas on High-Skill Emigration

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  • Clemens Michael A.

    (Center for Global Development, 2055 L Street NW 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036, USA)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Clemens Michael A., 2014. "A Case Against Taxes and Quotas on High-Skill Emigration," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-39, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:globdv:v:5:y:2014:i:1:p:39:n:4
    DOI: 10.1515/jgd-2014-0015
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    brain drain; development; migration; skill; tax;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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