Global Competition for Mobile Resources: Implications for Equity,
Efficiency, and Political Economy
by
David E. Wildasin
Martin School of Public Policy
and
Department of Economics
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0027
USA
Abstract
International integration of markets for labor and
capital has far-reaching policy implications in economies where
governments pursue extensive programs of redistribution through tax
and transfer policies. The large fiscal impacts that result from
movement of high- and low-income populations, as well as of capital,
affect the benefits, costs, and political payoffs of redistributive
policies, creating incentives for fiscal competition that may limit
the extent of redistribution over time. Migration and capital flows
are dynamic adjustment mechanisms, analysis of which can shed light on
the consequences of structural changes such as globalization of factor
markets and EU enlargement.
David Wildasin / dew@davidwildasin.us
Last updated: December 8, 2005.