The Diversity Lottery: Some Rough Open Borders Arithmetic

How many people want to immigrate to the U.S.?  In my past work, I’ve appealed to both surveys and black market prices to ballpark the answer.  Another approach, however, is to take a look at the U.S. Diversity lottery.  Every year, the U.S. takes applications from would-be immigrants all over the world.  Countries like Mexico, China, and India that already send lots of immigrants to the U.S. are excluded.  Further requirements:

If selected, to qualify for the immigrant visa, they must have comp...