Managing the Merchants of Migration

This prescient book takes readers inside the largely unexplored world of low-wage labour recruitment, revealing why governments are often unable to effectively regulate recruiters. It examines how different governments have developed unique relationships with private-sector recruiters over time and the inefficacy of these relationships.

Focusing on Australia, Canada and the USA, Edward Mohr analyses 40 recruiter regulations passed by subnational and local governments, finding that the laws predominantly rely, soley, on either migrant workers, labour recruiters or a government agency for enforcement. The book then examines 130 years of history from the industrial revolution to the modern era, analysing how governments in the three federations formed their relationships with the recruiters they depend upon to manage movement. By highlighting the critical role private-sector recruiters play in migrant movement, and spotlighting the challenges for governments in regulating them, this book makes a highly significant and urgently needed contribution to the field of migration governance.



Students and scholars of migration, public policy, international politics and sociology must read this book to enhance their understanding of global migration management. Policymakers, migration regulation experts and labour historians will also benefit from its comprehensive assessment of international recruitment regulation.