Labour migration policy and constitutional change in Scotland
Abstract
Scotland is holding a referendum on independence in 2014, which implies that the Scottish government would become responsible for migration policy in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote. Control over labour migration could be a vital policy tool for the Scottish government, influencing long-run economic growth rates and demographic change. This paper explores migration policy in the context of alternative constitutional outcomes for Scotland. It asks what scope a small economy that is intimately linked to a neighbouring larger economy has in shaping immigration policy. It finds that the level of international migration to Scotland is relatively low and that there are some significant differences in migrant characteristics compared to the rest of the UK (RUK). It also considers the political economy aspects of labour immigration through analysis of recent survey data. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, we would argue that Scotland would benefit from a more nuanced approach to immigration policies rather than the current ‘one size fits all’ UK-wide model.
Citation
Bell , D , Findlay , A M & McCollum , D 2014 , ' Labour migration policy and constitutional change in Scotland ' , Oxford Review of Economic Policy , vol. 30 , no. 2 , pp. 310-324 . https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/gru019
Publication
Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0266-903XType
Journal article
Rights
© The Authors 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. This article has been accepted for publication in Oxford Review of Economic Policy Published by Oxford University Press. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, pre-print manuscript prior to peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at http://oxrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/2/310
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