Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Economic Geography of Cross-Border Migration pp 33–54Cite as

Walls and Fences: A Journey Through History and Economics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Footprints of Regional Science ((VRS))

Abstract

Throughout history, border walls and fences have been built for defense, to claim land, to signal power, and to control migration. The costs of fortifications are large while the benefits are questionable. The recent trend of building walls and fences signals a paradox: In spite of the anti-immigration rhetoric of policymakers, there is little evidence that walls are effective in reducing terrorism, migration, and smuggling. Economic research suggests large benefits to open border policies in the face of increasing global migration pressures. Less restrictive migration policies should be accompanied by institutional changes aimed at increasing growth, improving security, and reducing income inequality in poorer countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development https://data.oecd.org/migration/foreign-born-population.htm.

  2. 2.

    United Nations Population Fund http://www.unfpa.org/migration.

  3. 3.

    The UN Refugee Agency https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean.

  4. 4.

    http://news.gallup.com/poll/211883/number-potential-migrants-worldwide-tops-700-million.aspx.

  5. 5.

    Climate change has been identified as a major source of the nomadic invasions against the agriculturalists in mid-to-late imperial China (Pei et al. 2018).

  6. 6.

    Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/ccf4b532-3935-11e6-9a05-82a9b15a8ee7.

  7. 7.

    Gulf News Jan 22, 2015 http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-building-hi-tech-border-fence-1.1445112.

  8. 8.

    Migration Data Portal https://migrationdataportal.org.

  9. 9.

    World Bank Open Data https://data.worldbank.org.

  10. 10.

    The Conversation https://theconversation.com/why-al-shabaab-targets-kenya-and-what-the-country-can-do-about-it-87371.

  11. 11.

    Economic development and emigration from developing countries are found to be inverse U-shaped. Hence, rising income increases the possibilities for migration, but migration has also a positive impact on development back home. See for a review of the rich literature Clemens (2014) and specific articles like de Haas (2010), Zimmermann (2017a, b), and Dao et al. (2018).

  12. 12.

    New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/us/15hiring.html.

  13. 13.

    World Bank Migration and Remittances Data 2018. http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/migration-remittances-data.

  14. 14.

    See also footnote 10 and the literature cited there.

References

  • Allen, T., Dobbin, C. C., & Morten, M. (2018). Border walls (NBER Working Papers 25267). National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akay, A., Constant, A., & Giulietti, C. (2014). The impact of immigration on the well-being of natives. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 103, 72–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akay, A., Constant, A., Giulietti, C., & Guzi, M. (2017). Ethnic diversity and well-being. Journal of Population Economics, 30, 265–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andreas, P. (2000). Border games: Policing the U.S.–Mexico Divide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, T., Lofstrom, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2000). Immigration policy, assimilation of immigrants, and natives’ sentiments towards immigrants: Evidence from 12 OECD countries. Swedish Economic Policy Review, 7, 11–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, F. D., & Mackie, C. (Eds.). (2016). The economic and fiscal consequences of immigration. A Report of the National Academies, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bley, B. (2011). The ancient maya and their city of Tulum: Uncovering the mysteries of an ancient civilization and their city of grandeur. iUniverse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bove, V., & Böhmelt, T. (2016). Does immigration induce terrorism? The Journal of Politics, 78(2), 572–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D., Earl, J., Kim, M. J., & Lee, K. M. (2019). Immigrant entrepreneurs and innovation in the US high-tech sector (NBER Working Paper No. 25565).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, W. (2010). Walled states, waning sovereignty. New York: Zone Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bruni, M. (2019). The world at the crossroad. Demographic polarization and mass migration. Global threat or global opportunity (GLO Discussion Paper Series No. 301). Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D. B., & Poast, P. (2017). Why do states build walls? Political economy, security, and border stability. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(2), 239–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaichian, M. (2013). Empires and walls. Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemens, M. A. (2011). Economics and emigration: Trillion-dollar bills on the sidewalk? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(3), 83–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens, M. A. (2014). Does development reduce migration? In E. B. L. Robert (Ed.), International handbook on migration and economic development, pp. 152–185. Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemens, M. A., & Postel, H. (2018). Deterring emigration with foreign aid: An overview of evidence from low‐income countries. Population and Development Review, 44(4), 667–693.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constant, A. F. (2014). Do migrants take the jobs of native workers? IZA World of Labor, 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constant, A. F., & Zimmermann, K. F. (Eds.) (2013). International handbook on the economics of migration, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constant, A. F., Nottmeyer, O., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2013). The economics of circular migration. In A. F. Constant, K. F. Zimmermann, F. K. (Eds.), International handbook on the economics of migration, pp. 55–74. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conwell, D. (2008). Connecting a city to the sea: The history of the athenian long walls. Brill: Academic Pub.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dao, T. H., Docquier, F., Parsons, C., Peri, G. (2018). Migration and development: Dissecting the anatomy of the mobility transition. Journal of Development Economics, 132, 88–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dear, M. (2013). Why walls won’t work: Repairing the U.S.-Mexico divide. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Cintio, M. (2013). Walls: Travels along the barricades. Union Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowty, A. (1987). Closed borders: The contemporary assault on freedom of movement. Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du, R., & Zhang, J. (2018). Walled cities and urban density in China. Forthcoming: Papers in Regional Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/pirs.12415.

  • Dumper, M., & Stanley, B. E. (ed.). (2007). Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Economist. (2016). The economics of Donald Trump’s wall. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/07/26/the-economics-of-donald-trumps-wall.

  • Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Jericho https://www.britannica.com/place/Jericho-West-Bank. Accessed February 4, 2019.

  • Ewing, W., Martínez, D. E., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2015). The criminalization of immigration in the United States. American Immigration Council. Special Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foged, M., & Peri, G. (2016). Immigrants’ effect on native workers: New analysis on longitudinal data. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8, 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galli, F., & Russo, G. (2019). Immigration restrictions and second-generation cultural assimilation: Theory and quasi-experimental evidence. Journal of Population Economics, 32(1), 23–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavrilis, G. (2008). The dynamics of interstate boundaries. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giulietti, C., & Wahba, J. (2013). Welfare migration. In A. F. Constant & K. F. Zimmermann (Eds.), International handbook on the economics of migration (pp. 489–504). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giulietti, C., Guzi, M., Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2013). Unemployment benefits and immigration: Evidence from the EU. International Journal of Manpower, 34(1), 24–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Guardian. (2016). Benin City, the mighty medieval capital now lost without trace. March 18, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace.

  • de Haas, H. (2010). Migration transitions (IMI Working Papers). International Migration Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ioannides, Y., & Zhang, J. (2017). Walled cities in late imperial China. Journal of Urban Economics, 97, 71–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jauer, J., Liebig, T., Martin, J. P., & Puhani, P. A. (2019). Migration as an adjustment mechanism in the crisis? A comparison of Europe and the United States 2006–2016. Journal of Population Economics, 32(1), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. H. M. (1964). The later Roman Empire 284–602. A social economic and administrative survey, two volumes. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. (2012). Border Walls: Security and the War on Terror in the United States, India, and Israel. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. (2016). Borders and walls: Do barriers deter unauthorized migration?, Migration information source. The Online Journal of the Migration Policy Institute, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/borders-and-walls-do-barriers-deter-unauthorized-migration.

  • Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (Eds.) (2009a). EU labor markets after post-enlargement migration. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2009b). International migration, ethnicity and economic inequality. In W. Salverda, B. Nolan, & T. M. Smeeding (Eds.), Oxford handbook on economic inequality (pp. 455–490). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2014). How skilled immigration may improve economic equality. IZA Journal of Migration, 3, 2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahanec, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (Eds.) (2016). Labor migration, EU enlargement, and the great recession. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann J. E., & Donnell, C., (Ed.) (2004). Modern European military fortifications, 1870–1950: A selective annotated bibliography. Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennan, J. (2013). Open borders. Review of Economic Dynamics, 16(2), L1–L13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennan, J. (2014). Freedom of movement for workers. IZA World of Labor. https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kollmann, N. S. (2017). The Russian Empire 1450–1801. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kopinski, D., & Polus, A. (2019). Is Botswana Creating a New Gaza Strip? An Analysis of the ‘Fence Discourse’. In Crossing African Borders: Migration and Mobility [en ligne]. Lisboa: Centro de Estudos Internacionais, 2012. Accessed 4 Feb 2019. http://books.openedition.org/cei/235.

  • Ku, L., & Bruen, B. (2013). The use of public assistance benefits by citizens and non-citizen immigrants in the United States (Working Paper No. 13). Cato Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langerbein, H. (2009). Great blunders: The Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and the Proposed United States/Mexico Border Fence. The History Teacher, 43(1), 9–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovell, J. (2006). The Great Wall: China against the World, 1000 BC–2000 AD. New York: Grove Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Durand, J., & Pren, K. A. (2016). Why border enforcement backfired. American Journal of Sociology, 121(5), 1557–1600. https://doi.org/10.1086/684200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Pren, K. A. (2012). Unintended consequences of US immigration policy: Explaining the post-1965 surge from Latin America. Population and Development Review, 38(1), 1–29. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407978/.

  • Miller, T. (2017). Storming the wall: Climate change, migration, and homeland security. City Lights Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • New Scientist. (1990). Hundreds Killed by South Africa Border Fence. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12517011-000-hundreds-killed-by-south-africas-border-fence/. Accessed 20 Feb 2019.

  • Onishi, N. (1999). Eredo Journal; A Wall, a Moat, Behold! A Lost Yoruba Kingdom. New York Times. 20 Sept 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/20/world/eredo-journal-a-wall-a-moat-behold-a-lost-yoruba-kingdom.html.

  • Pei, Q., Lee, H. F., Zhang, D. D., & Fei, J. (2018). Climate change, state capacity and nomad–agriculturalist conflicts in Chinese history. forthcoming. Quaternary International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.10.022.

  • Peterson, J. E. (2008). Oman’s insurgencies: The sultanate’s struggle for supremacy. Saqi Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peri, G. (2014). Do immigrant workers depress the wages of native workers. IZA World of Labor, 42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinker, S. (2011). The better angels of our nature: Why violence has declined. Viking, New York, NY. http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/largescaleimmigration.pdf.

  • Pulsiano, P., & Wolf, K. (1993). Routledge revivals: Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia, pp. 120–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigaud, K. K., de Sherbinin, A., Jones, B., Bergmann, J., Clement, V., Ober, K., Schewe, J., Adamo, S., McCusker, B., Heuser, S., Midgley, A. (2018). Groundswell: Preparing for internal climate migration. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.

  • Rosière, S., & Jones, R. (2012). Teichopolitics: Re-considering globalisation through the role of walls and fences. Geopolitics, 17(1), 217–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rottman, G. L. (2012). The Berlin wall and the intra-German Border 1961–89. Bloomsbury Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saddiki, S. (2017). World of walls: The structure, roles and effectiveness of separation barriers. Open Book Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spring, P. (2015). Great walls and linear barriers. Pen and Sword Military.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamouli, N. (2016). Inside the migrant smuggling trade: Escapes start at €1000. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-border-crackdown-kick-starts-migrant-smuggling-business-1459260153.

  • Torpey, J. (2000). The invention of the passport. Surveillance, citizenship and the state. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trouwborst, A., Fleurke, F., & Dubrulle, J. (2016). Border fences and their impacts on large carnivores, large herbivores and biodiversity: An international wildlife law perspective. RECIEL, 25, 291–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12169, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/reel.12169/full.

  • US Customs and Border Protection (2017). U.S. border patrol fiscal year southwest border sector deaths (FY 1998–FY 2017). December 2017. https://www.cbp.gov/document/stats/us-border-patrol-fiscal-year-southwest-border-sector-deaths-fy-1998-fy-2017.

  • US Department of Homeland Security (2017). Office of immigration statistics. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0914_estimates-of-border-security.pdf.

  • US Drug Enforcement Administration (2016). National drug threat assessment summary. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-07/DIR-001-17_2016_NDTA_Summary.pdf.

  • Vallet, É. (Ed.) (2016). Borders, fences and walls: State of insecurity? Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldron, A. (1989). The Great Wall: From history to Myth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S., & Friell, J. G. P. (1998). The Rome that did not fall: The Phoenix of the East. London: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, G. (2005). China and the Great War: China’s pursuit of a new national identity and internationalization. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, K. F. (2014a). Circular migration. Why restricting labor mobility can be counterproductive. IZA World of Labor, 1. https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.1. https://wol.iza.org/articles/circular-migration/long.

  • Zimmermann, K. F. (2014b). Migration, jobs and integration in Europe. Migration Policy Practice, 4(4), 4–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, K. F. (2017a). Migration for development: from challenges to opportunities (GLO Discussion Paper, No. 70). Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, K. F. (2017b). La migration en faveur du développement: des défis aux opportunités. Revue d’économie du développement, 25(1), 13–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank K. Bruce Newbold and two anonymous reviewers for many helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Contribution to The Economic Geography of Cross-Border Migration.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York and GLO, New York, NY, USA

    Victoria Vernon

  2. UNU-MERIT, CEPR and GLO, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

Authors
  1. Victoria Vernon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Klaus F. Zimmermann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Klaus F. Zimmermann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, 'S-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands

    Karima Kourtit

  2. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Bruce Newbold

  3. Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, 'S-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands

    Peter Nijkamp

  4. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Mark Partridge

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Vernon, V., Zimmermann, K.F. (2021). Walls and Fences: A Journey Through History and Economics. In: Kourtit, K., Newbold, B., Nijkamp, P., Partridge, M. (eds) The Economic Geography of Cross-Border Migration. Footprints of Regional Science(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48291-6_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation