How a tradable refugee-admission quota system could help solve the EU’s migration crisis

The European Council discussed the issue of EU refugee quotas on 25-26 June, with several countries divided over whether and how responsibility for refugees should be distributed across EU member states. In light of the discussion, Hillel Rapoport outlines a three stage proposal for implementing a Tradable Refugee-Admission Quota System (TRAQS) which encompasses tradable quotas for refugees and a ‘matching mechanism’ that takes account of the preferences of migrants and member states. He argues that this model could offer a realistic framework for compromise that would be both fair and cost-effective.