Nobel Laureates Aim Too Low on Global Poverty

Immigration and growth would help more than addressing the winners’ ‘manageable questions.’

By David R. Henderson. Excerpts:

"in the case of global poverty, economists actually do have pretty good ideas about how to fight the problem on a macro scale. Namely, immigration and economic growth, which are by far the most reliable ways to improve the quality of life among the world’s poor.

 The relative narrowness of the scope of this year’s winners’ work is owed in part to their method of analysis: randomized controlled trials. Such trials allow economists to reduce the uncertainty of economic analysis by eliminating the possibility of self-selection. Yet they are also usually small in their scope, as the subjects typically must be organized directly by the researchers."

"The research by this year’s Nobel winners says little about how poor nations, and the people within them, can actually become rich, or at least much better off.

Many other economists are asking that question, and coming up with big answers. Michael A. Clemens, an economist at the Center for Global Development, has written that removing or substantially reducing barriers to immigration would create tens of trillions of dollars of additional income for people from poor countries, while also benefiting the rich countries to which they move. How about a Nobel Prize to Mr. Clemens for working on a big question?"