The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Economist Bryan Caplan says immigration laws impoverish mankind at Jepson Forum

<p>Bryan Caplan presents at the Jepson Leadership Forum on Oct. 19. <em>Photo courtesy of event livestream.</em></p>

Bryan Caplan presents at the Jepson Leadership Forum on Oct. 19. Photo courtesy of event livestream.

Immigration restrictions cut the potential output of humanity in half, economist and author Bryan Caplan told the Jepson Leadership Forum on Oct. 19. 

At the heart of Caplan’s argument, which is laid out in his book, “Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration,” is the idea that people of all skill levels are more productive in richer countries. He argued that open borders would lead to huge increases in productivity, which would be broadly beneficial for humanity.

“If mainstream social science is even roughly correct, all mainstream world theories require open borders,” Caplan said. 

The largest impact of immigration restrictions is stopping economically beneficial movement from happening, Caplan told an audience of about 150 students, faculty and community members gathered in the Jepson Alumni Center and another 200 online. 

Caplan rebutted the argument that immigrants increase costs for the U.S. welfare state, explaining that most government spending is not dependent on population. He also said that almost no serious researchers had found negative fiscal effects associated with immigration; the financial effects have been found to be positive or neutral. 

Even if the complaint was true, he asked, “why not let immigrants in under the condition that they have reduced eligibility for benefits?” Restricting the liberties of immigrants is preferable to rejecting them altogether, Caplan argued. 

Some humanitarians feel that it’s morally superior to keep someone stuck in a war zone than to accept immigrants under the conditions they get jobs and can not benefit from taxpayer money, Caplan said. 

The 2021-22 Jepson Leadership Forum invites scholars, activists and experts to discuss the moral, ethical and legal implications of global migration and asylum, according to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies’ website

“The speakers in the forum are discussing a variety of different topics relating to nationalism and the movement of peoples,” Javier Hidalgo, associate professor of leadership studies, who organized the series, said. “Bryan Caplan is an influential proponent of open borders.” 

Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University, has authored several books, including “The Myth of the Rational Voter,” which was named the best political book of 2007 by the New York Times. He has also written for publications including in The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and TIME. 

“Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration,” lays out an argument for free international movement and Caplan consistently defends immigration on his blog, Hidalgo said.  

Maha Hassan, a UR senior majoring in leadership studies, introduced Caplan, and other students were able to speak during a question-and-answer segment. One student asked Caplan whether poorer countries would benefit more from added focus on nation building than immigration. 

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“We know immigration works,” Caplan said. “Nation building on the other hand fails most of the time, and I’m generally of the view that it fails because the countries that are doing it don’t actually care that much about succeeding.” 

Contact contributor Kathryn Kimmel at kathryn.kimmel@richmond.edu.

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