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How many refugees should the US admit?

Author

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  • M. Christian Lehmann

    (University of Brasilia, Department of Economics, Brazil)

Abstract

US refugee admissions reached a historical low in 2018, when the number of individuals seeking refuge from war and persecution is at a historical high. I show that the US is currently hosting too few refugees from the perspective of a utilitarian social planner. More generally, I illustrate the potential of Welfare Economics to inform the debate on how many refugees a country ought to admit.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Christian Lehmann, 2019. "How many refugees should the US admit?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(3), pages 2117-2121.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-19-00654
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2019/Volume39/EB-19-V39-I3-P197.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. M. Christian Lehmann, 2020. "Aiding refugees, aiding peace?," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(5), pages 1687-1704, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Civil Conflict; Refugees; Humanitarian Assistance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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