Would Open Borders Lead to Reduced Global and Within-Country Inequality?

International migration is identified in SDG 10 as a way to reduce global and within-country inequality. The literature on the effects of migration on migrants, their countries of origin, and their destination countries is vast. This review surveys recent literature on these topics, highlighting the complex relationships between inequality and international migration. The impact of international migrationon inequality depends on who the migrants are, where they come from, the circumstances surrounding their decisions to migrate, and their final destinations. Policies with respect to refugees and asylum seekers are different from those for other types of migrants, and not all policies work to reduce inequalities or benefit migrants and their countries of origin. Reducing or eliminating restrictions on the movements of human beings would bring very large economic benefits to the world as a whole, but the equitable distribution of these gains will require the development of appropriate policies.