Income Redistribution and Migration

David E. Wildasin

Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d économique · 1994 · 167 citations · 18 references

Concepts

TL;DR

This paper analyzes redistribution policies that transfer income between owners of immobile factors of production and workers in a given region. The authors characterize the menu of income distribution possibilities attainable through tax/transfer policy in the presence of labour mobility. General equilibrium analysis shows that migration can lead to Pareto‑inferior outcomes in the destination region if immigrants benefit from redistributive transfers, but all residents may gain if transfer payments are also made to workers in the source region to reduce immigration. Summary provided in French.

Abstract

"This paper analyses redistribution policies that transfer income between owners of immobile factors of production and workers in a given region. The menu of income distribution possibilities attainable through tax/transfer policy in the presence of labour mobility is characterized. Simple general equilibrium analysis shows that migration can lead to Pareto-inferior outcomes in the destination region if immigrants are the beneficiaries of redistributive transfers. All residents of the destination region may gain, however, if transfer payments are also paid to workers in the source region so as to reduce the level of immigration. " (SUMMARY IN FRE)

References

18