Managing International Migration: Rethinking Transaction Costs, Red Tape, and Their Impact

Abstract

The debate on migration is bound to be tough and uneasy, and yet it is necessary to ask the difficult questions and listen to arguments that we may not like. Only in this way, it will be possible to have a solid and healthy discussion on the prospect of an efficient global governance regime. This Special Section addresses this imperative by exploring the prospect of turning away from ad hoc migration management towards holistic global migration governance. Migration defies any moral judgment and imposes moral obligations on those more fortunate. Tools and, so, policies are needed to follow this moral imperative of serving without harming. Transaction costs and red tape are nevertheless central in the debate. This Special Section sheds some light on it.