Are Refugees Welcome? Experiments on International Cooperation in Migrant Crises

• In Event: Migration: Causes and Consequences

Abstract

How can countries cooperate to shelter refugees? We use experimental economics to study the distinct challenges of cooperation in migrant crises. We designed an economic game, pass the buck, where participants are leaders of countries who decide whether to shelter migrants or pass them to the next country. We examine the difficulties posed by one-way migration and differences in wealth. We find that leaders sheltered migrants less often when they received them first on a one-way route, compared to when everyone received migrants. Moreover, the first leader became more likely to shelter migrants when the last country could return them to the first. When one country was wealthier, the wealthy leader sheltered more and the other leaders passed more. We discuss the implications for international cooperation in migrant crises.

Authors

• Alessandro Del Ponte, Yale University

• Peter DeScioli, Stony Brook University