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Tim Hatton

University of Essex, UK, and IZA, Germany

This IZA initiative is important in helping to bridge the gap between economic research and public policy. This is much needed in the field of immigration and asylum

IZA World of Labor role

Author, Topic spokesperson

Current position

Professor of Economics, University of Essex, UK

Research interest

Immigration, asylum policy, economic history

Website

https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/HATTO30902/Timothy-Hatton

Past positions

Professor of Economics, Australian National University, Australia

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Warwick, UK, 1982

Selected publications

  • “Asylum migration to the developed world: Persecution, incentives, and policy.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 34 (2020): 75–93.

  • “Atmospheric pollution, health and height in late nineteenth century Britain.” Journal of Economic History 78 (2018): 1210–1247 (with R. E. Bailey and K. Inwood).

  • “Fertility and the health of children in Indonesia.” Economics and Human Biology 28 (2018): 67–78 (with D. Suryadarma, R. Sparrow, and P. van der Eng).

  • “Refugees and asylum seekers, the crisis in Europe and the future of policy.” Economic Policy 91 (2017): 447–496.

  • “Immigration, public opinion and the recession in Europe.” Economic Policy 86 (2016): 205–246 (Lead article; Editor’s choice).

article(s)

  • European asylum policy before and after the migration crisis

    The European migration crisis of 2015–2016 exposed weaknesses in the asylum system that have been only partly addressed

    Tim Hatton, September 2020
    The migration crisis of 2015–2016 threw the European asylum system into disarray. The arrival of more than two million unauthorized migrants stretched the system to its breaking point and created a public opinion backlash. The existing system is one in which migrants risk life and limb to gain (often unauthorized) entry to the EU in order to lodge claims for asylum, more than half of which are rejected. Reforms introduced during the crisis only partially address the system's glaring weaknesses. In particular, they shift the balance only slightly away from a regime of spontaneous asylum-seeking to one of refugee resettlement.
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  • Setting policy on asylum: Has the EU got it right?

    Harmonizing asylum policies, a noble goal, does not produce the best outcomes for refugees or host country populations

    Tim Hatton, February 2015
    Policy toward asylum-seekers has been controversial. Since the late 1990s, the EU has been developing a Common European Asylum System, but without clearly identifying the basis for cooperation. Providing a safe haven for refugees can be seen as a public good and this provides the rationale for policy coordination between governments. But where the volume of applications differs widely across countries, policy harmonization is not sufficient. Burden-sharing measures are needed as well, in order to achieve an optimal distribution of refugees across member states. Such policies are economically desirable and are more politically feasible than is sometimes believed.
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