We suggest that border patrols, the apprehension of illegal aliens, and the offering of immigration amnesties may be viewed as different facets of the same policy. A rich country can use this policy mix to attract cheap foreign workers while avoiding low ability migrants, who, once amnestied, become a burden on the public purse. Paper in .pdf format.
Stephen H. Karlson, "Irreversible Investments in Electric Generating Capacity," September 2001
The research evaluates the usefulness of irreversible investment models to calculate hurdle rates required to make investments in several available technologies to generate electricity. A simple model is extended to include risks in demand, operating costs and capital costs. Under some tenable assumptions, investments in short leadtime plants have lower required hurdle rates of return than investments in longer leadtime plants, particularly with the simpler models. The relationship between construction leadtime and hurdle rates is sensitive to other parameters, such as risks and assumed revenue growth. The model is not robust and does not produce tenable results under numerous conditions, particularly when more than one source of risk is included. The most general irreversible investment model calculates prohibitively high hurdle rates, suggesting that energy modelers apply irreversible investment models carefully.