Most labor scarce overseas countries moved decisively to restrict their immigration during the first third of the 20th century. This autarchic retreat from unrestricted and even publiclysubsidized immigration in the first global century before World War I to the quotas and bans introduced...

Today's labor-scarce economies have open trade and closed immigration policies, while a century ago they had just the opposite, open immigration and closed trade policies. Why the inverse policy correlation, and why has it persisted for almost two centuries? This paper seeks answers to this dual...

Immigrants during two global centuries : rising quantity and falling quality -- A framework -- Looking at local labor markets -- Immigration shocks and labor market absorption : two modern examples -- Immigrants, wages, and inequality : the global centuries compared -- Policy and the demise of...