Alberto Achermann

The Law and Economics of Migration Policy

Migration law is not just a matter of national law. Instead, various types of bilateral and multilateral agreements come into play. It is the result of State bargaining and thus potentially linked to other issues at stake. Considering a framework of different levels of decision-making, the main focus of this project is on two questions: where should regulation take place? And how should decisions concerning different rights be allocated to individuals and to actors at several levels of government? This project uses input and concepts from economics to assess legal rules and analyze policy-making.

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)
Main Results (PDF)

Messages for Decision-Makers

Large-scale developments such as new technologies, climate change, trade liberalization, or civil war bring about changes in the institutional regulation of migration.
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Efficiency analysis must take into account that decisions on immigration rules may affect the well-being of people in other countries.
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Spouses should be able to choose the most advantageous law governing their marriage, regardless of whether or not the couple has a close connection with the legal system that has been chosen.

Project-related scientific publications Select publication   Hanke, Philip C., Marek Wieruszewski and Marion Panizzon The ‘spirit of the Schengen rules’, the humanitarian visa, and contested asylum governance in Europe – The Swiss case 2019   Panizzon, Marion The EU-Jordan compact in a trade law context: preferential access to the EU market to ‘Keep Refugees in the Region 2019   Panizzon, Marion and Micheline van Riemsdijk Introduction to Special Issue: ‘Migration Governance in an Era of Large Movements: A Multi-Level Approach’ 2019   Achermann, Alberto and Peter Uebersax Bund und Kantone im Ausländerrecht 2018   Achermann, Alberto, Peter Müller and Lars Schneider Die Rechtsprechung des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts im Bereich des Ausländer- und Bürgerrechts 2018   Achermann, Alberto, Véronique Boillet, Martina Caroni, Astrid Epiney, Jörg Künzli and Peter Uebersax Jahrbuch für Migrationsrecht 2017/2018- Annuaire du droit de la migration 2017/2018 2018   Carrera, Sergio, Arie Pieter Leonhard den Hertog, Dora Kostakopoulou and Marion Panizzon EU External Migration Policies in an Era of Global Mobilities: Intersecting Policy Universes 2018   Panizzon, Marion Global Compact for Migration: eine Chance für die politische Kohärenz? 2018   Panizzon, Marion Trade-for-Refugee Employment: Nexing for Deterrence or Development in the EU-Jordan Compact? 2018   von Rütte, Barbara Das neue Bürgerrechtsgesetz und dessen Umsetzung in den Kantonen 2018   Hanke, Philip C. Marcel Gérard and Silke Uebelmesser, eds.: The Mobility of Students and the Highly Skilled: Implications for Education Financing and Economic Policy 2017   Hanke, Philip C. Rezension: Stefan Schlegel, Der Entscheid über Migration als Verfügungsrecht 2017   Hanke, Philip C. Climate Change, Environmental Damage and Migration: A Law and Economics Perspective 2017   Hanke, Philip C. Do stock prices react to immigration restrictions? Evidence from an event study in Switzerland 2017   Schlegel, Stefan Die Theorie der Verfügungsrechte als Instrument, Pfadabhängigkeiten im Verwaltungsrecht zu definieren, zu erkennen und zu überwinden 2017   Schlegel, Stefan Der Entscheid über Migration als Verfügungsrecht 2017   Achermann, Alberto and Martin Hemmi Internationale Entwicklungen mit Bedeutung für die Schweiz 2016   Hanke, Philip C. and Klaus Heine Fiscal Federalism 2016   Achermann, Alberto and Stefan Schlegel Internationale Entwicklungen mit Bedeutung für die Schweiz 2015   Hanke, Philip C. and Klaus Heine Migration and Systems Competition: A Constitutional Economics Perspective 2015   Achermann, Alberto and Stefan Schlegel Internationale Entwicklungen mit Bedeutung für die Schweiz 2014   Schlegel, Stefan and Gabriela Medici Partnerschaftliche Instrumente in der schweizerischen Migrationsaußenpolitik 2014