In this study, Jeffrey G. Williamson examines the political economy of immigration backlash and immigration policy in two global centuries. The first, between 1820 and World War I, was a proglobal environment, characterized by booming trade, labor, and capital markets. It was followed by an antiglobal and autarchic retreat between 1914 and 1950. Williamson finds that the second global century has moved to reclaim world integration in trade and capital markets, but immigration policy in high-wage countries has not tried to reclaim an open stance.
Jeffrey Gale Williamson is the Laird Bell Professor of Economics (Emeritus), Harvard University; an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin (Madison); Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research; and Research Fellow for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He also served (1994–1995) as the president of the Economic History Association. His research focus is and has been on comparative economic history and the history of the international economy and development.