Margaret Peters

Margaret Peters is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Chair of the Global Studies major at UCLA. She is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research on the political economy of migration. She is currently working on a book project on how the process of forced displacement affects migrants’ sense of dignity and how these dignity concerns affect decisions of whether to move from the crisis zone, where to move, and when to return. She is additionally writing a book on how dictators use migration, including forced migration, to remain in power. Her award-winning book, Trading Barriers: Immigration and the Remaking of Globalization, argues that the increased ability of firms to produce anywhere in the world combined with growing international competition due to lowered trade barriers has led to greater limits on immigration, as businesses no longer see a need to support open immigration at home.

Education:
Ph.D. Political Science, 2011, Stanford University
MA Economics, 2008, Stanford University
BA Political Science, minor in Mathematics, 2002, University of Michigan

Interests:
Political economy of migration

Selected Publications:
“Inequality and Immigration Policy”- with Adrian Shin, 2022. Studies in Comparative International Development. Gated. Ungated. Appendix. Replication Data and Code.

"Informalization, obfuscation and bilateral labor agreements." - with Tijana Lujic, 2022. Theoretical Inquiries in Law. 23:2, 113-147. Gated.

"Migration and the Demand for Transnational Justice." -with Leslie Johns and Maximo Langer, 2022. American Political Science Review. 1-24. (Open Access)

Trading Barriers: Immigration and the Remaking of Globalization. 2017. Princeton University Press.