Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Listen to the 4 December seminar by Dr Martin Ruhs (University of Oxford), part of the Michaelmas term 2013 Public Seminar Series

Many low-income countries and development organisations are calling for greater liberalisation of labour immigration policies in high-income countries. At the same time, human rights organisations and migrant rights advocates are demanding more equal rights for migrant workers. In his new book, The Price of Rights, Martin Ruhs shows why we cannot always have both.

Dr Ruhs analyses how high-income countries restrict the rights of migrant workers as part of their labour immigration policies and discusses the implications for global debates about regulating labour migration and protecting migrants. The analysis looks at the tensions between human rights and citizenship rights, the agency and interests of migrants and states, and the determinants and ethics of labour immigration policy. 

In this talk, Dr Ruhs discusses the main findings and arguments of the book and explores the implications for debates about policies for admitting asylum seekers and refugees.

About the speaker

Dr Martin Ruhs is University Lecturer in Political Economy and Senior Researcher at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford.

Related content