Immigration law and the international governance of migration in light of the theory of property rights (completed)

Stefan Schlegel


Stefan Schlegel’s research at the MPI-MMG centered on the question of which goods (e.g., access to well-functioning public institutions and well-functioning labor markets) are distributed by immigration law. He analyzed international treaties on migration from the perspective of the goods that are transferred by these treaties. He developed an understanding of the growing variety of international treaties concerning migration and a common language for the goods (e.g., market access) that are transferred by these  treaties. He develops the idea that blocking migration imposes a negative external effect on foreign countries and their citizens, and that many treaties regarding migration can be understood as an attempt to internalize some of that effect. The insight that immigration law allocates good ‘access to institutions’ is also useful for the debate on migration and development. He identifies this access as the main reason why migration can have such an opportunity-enhancing effect. 

Representative publication:

Schlegel, S. (2018). Move inside the “Bell Jar”: A property rights approach to the skills of migrants. International Migration, 1-16. doi:10.1111/imig.12499.

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