This is one of the most pressing and contentious issues of our time, hotly contested and deeply ideological. Who should be allowed to immigrate and who should not? What are the arguments for and against limiting the number of immigrants? In Exodus, eminent economist Paul Collier lays out clearly and concisely the consequences of encouraging or discouraging migration. Drawing on original research and numerous case studies, he approaches the issue from three perspectives: the migrants themselves, the people they leave behind, and the societies they immigrate to. As Collier shows, immigrants from the world’s poorest countries tend to be the most educated and ambitious. And while these people often achieve economic success by leaving their home countries, they also deprive those countries of the skills they desperately need. Left unchecked, immigration can only accelerate: the poorest countries will face a veritable exodus. Immigration is a simple economic equation, but it has complex consequences. "Exodus" shows how important immigration and its consequences will be for public policy in the coming years and decades.

The book was published with the support of the Liberal Mission Foundation.