Immigration, Reciprocity, and the Modern Economic Tradition

Abstract

Contemporary economists are silent regarding economic rights because modern economic theory does not adequately account for reciprocity and risk in human relationships. The immigration question in the US serves as our test case for both the reality of reciprocity and risk in the realm of economic rights, and the need for economic analysis that more honestly contends with this reality. We examine reciprocity and risk in immigration through an economic lens and then complement that examination with resources from the Catholic social teaching tradition. We show how Catholic social teaching can enhance economic analysis of immigration and other social phenomena by helping economics make sense of reciprocity and risk in economic relations.