Neoclassical economics dominates migration policy despite assuming free agents

Evidence

In terms of its influence on policy makers, the dominant approach in explaining why migration takes place has been neoclassical economic theory and its derivatives such as human capital theory. Essentially, migration is seen as being caused by differences in supply of and demand for labor in different places. People tend to move from countries where wages are low and labor is plentiful relative to capital to those where the opposite is the case. Emphasis is put on the individual decisions to migrate based on rational comparisons of the costs and benefits involved. Migrants are seen as free agents who make choices in a “migration market.” People migrate if they believe that they can maximize their income by moving to another place (Todaro, 1976; Borjas, 1990). Over time, neoclassical theory assumes that a combination of labor migration and international capital flows will even out differences between countries, leading to equilibrium and a decline in migration. Constraining factors, such as government restrictions on migration, are seen as market distortions that should be eliminated. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3830 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Neoclassical economics frames migration as wage-differential market choice — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3830; Neoclassical migration models lack the data accuracy they assume — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3831; Neoliberal economics rests methodologically on methodological individualism and market-clearing assumptions — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 125 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Neoclassical economics frames migration as wage-differential market choice #expands (0.95) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3830
• Neoliberal ‘free choice’ masks racially marked constraints on mobility #complicates (0.75)