Let Their People Come: Breaking the Gridlock on Global Labor Mobility

September 15, 2006

In Let Their People Come, Lant Pritchett argues that irresistible demographic forces leading to greater international labor mobility are being checked by immovable anti-immigration ideas of citizens of rich countries. He proposes breaking the deadlock through policies that support development while also being politically acceptable in those well-off nations. These include greater use of temporary worker permits; permit rationing; and protection of migrants’ fundamental human rights.

Pritchett, Lead Socio-Economist, World Bank, New Delhi and Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development, discussed his new book at Center for Global Development. Michael Clemens, Research Fellow at Center for Global Development served as a discussant while Nancy Birdsall, President, moderated.

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