(Oct. 4, 2018) -- Studying the economic interactions of unauthorized immigrants from a policy perspective, Hamid Beladi, associate dean of faculty and research and Janey S. Briscoe Endowed Chair in Business, conducted research in this area with colleagues.
The article, “A Model of Smuggling and Trafficking of Illegal Immigrants with a Host Country Policy,” appeared in the Review of Development Economics.
The staggering volume of unauthorized immigrants has motivated many influential studies in economics, political science, sociology and international law.
“It is a fascinating, contemporary topic,” said Beladi. “Relatively, the United States is in a much better position regarding unauthorized immigrants than European countries.”
The most recent data from 2014 estimates that there are 12.1 million unauthorized immigrants in the country—about 3.5 percent of the total United States population.
Beladi’s research particularly looked at how smuggling and trafficking could be curbed through the use of economic disincentives,
“Policies to restrict unauthorized immigrants have been primarily driven by the political and economic judgments at the destination—capturing only a partial demand side view of the problem,” said Beladi. “One has to nevertheless appreciate the fact that since immigration is principally governed by the conditions of excess supply of relatively unskilled workers, the socio-economic factors at the source must also be reviewed at length.”
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime states that smuggling of workers is the fastest-growing activity in the world with profits currently estimated at $31.6 billion.
“Unless sufficient attention is devoted to crucial incentives and disincentives governing decisions to migrate illegally from the source countries, many restrictive policies designed at the destinations are not likely to yield adequate results or lessen the degree of exploitation that is intrinsic to unauthorized immigrants labor mobility,” said Beladi.
he first part of their model proposes taxing workers to fund enhanced unemployment benefits to protect legal unskilled workers, who are most susceptible to losing jobs due to unauthorized immigrants. The second strategy is to fine employers who hire unauthorized workers.
“The higher unemployment benefit and the higher penalty create dual pressure on the employers of unauthorized workers,” said Beladi. “As a result they would need to lower the wages they pay to unauthorized workers—weakening the economic incentives of coming to the U.S. for both the immigrants and the smugglers and traffickers.”
Beladi is continuing his research in this area as well as looking at migration and trade issues in Europe.
Learn more about Hamid Beladi.
Explore the UTSA College of Business.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.