“Economists’ consensus estimate is that open borders would roughly double world GDP, enough to virtually eliminate global poverty.” (Clemens 2011)
Of course 2x world GDP *could* eliminate global poverty. But is there any evidence that this new GDP would end up going towards that purpose? Actually, there is!
The rate of remittances by immigrants to impoverished family members back home has been well-studied. It’s uncontroversial that the remittance rate is high enough that allowing free immigration would naturally, rapidly, and completely wipe out global poverty.
Perhaps there’s a catch? Maybe it hurts workers in developed countries a lot? Let’s check!
“A 10% increase in the immigrant share of the labor force reduced native wages by about 1%.” (Friedberg and Hunt 1995)
Hmm, guess not. There’s actually lots of data out there about how and why this would work, what the costs would be, and how to make it so that everyone wins in these scenarios.
If you haven’t considered the case for eliminating global poverty through open borders, I recommend reading Bryan Caplan’s “Why Should We Restrict Immigration?”
See on papers.ssrn.com
