On 23rd March 2010, Professor Gordon Hanson, Professor of Economics, UC San Diego, gave a CReAM Public Lecture entitled Managing Immigration Policy in High Income Countries.

Professor Hanson's talk was followed by a discussion of three panelists with questions by the auditorium to the panel and the speaker. The panel consisted of David Coats, Associate Director Policy, The Work Foundation, David Goodhart, founder and editor Prospect magazine and Jonathan Portes, Chief Economist, Cabinet Office.

Synopsis of the talk: Immigration is changing the composition of high income countries. Between 1970 and 2008, the share of foreign born residents in the populations of Britain, the United States, and other rich nations increased from less than 5 percent to over 10 percent, with individuals from low income regions accounting for much of the growth. What objectives guide current immigration policies in Europe and the US? Are there alternative policies that would raise national welfare in these destinations? Which countries have been most successful in attracting skilled workers as immigrants? In this presentation, Prof. Gordon Hanson reviews the state of play in the global immigration policy debate and examines ideas under consideration for reforming these policies.

Watch the full video of the talk:

The event was within UCL's Global Migration Symposia Series in cooperation with the UCL Grand Challenge of Intercultural Interaction.