Forward Planning and Stability of the Australian Migration Program

Should the Australian immigration intake be forward-planned and, if so, should the resulting intake be numerically stable through time? There are sound reasons for anticipating the effects of current intakes on future intakes and for basing current intakes on Australia's long-term national objectives. These policy requirements imply a case for forward planning but not the need for a stable intake. Appropriately designed numerically unstable intakes are preferable to stable intakes because instability, while introducing adjustment costs, avoids more significant losses due to reduced selectivity in the entry mix. Copyright 1996 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.