D. Angeli, A. Dimitriadi, A. Triandafyllidou (2014) “Assessing the Cost-effectiveness of Irregular Migration Control Policies in Greece”, MIDAS report Migration and Detention Assesment, Funded by a grant by the Open Society Foundations
Discussions on Greece’s migration and asylum policies have in recent years primarily taken place from a human rights perspective. Through this humanitarian lens, effective migration management means effective protection of human rights.The present report, which brings together the main findings of the MIDAS project, reviews the Greek and at a wider level the EU approach towards irregular migration through the lens of cost-effectiveness. By measuring the human and material resources invested in the management of irregular migration within the time frame of 2008-2013, the present paper discusses three crucial questions:
1 How much do irregular migration control policies in Greece actually cost?
2. Are current policies cost-effective, when compared against their outputs and outcomes?
3. Are there any alternative policy recommendations that could be more cost-effective?
The MIDAS report feeds thereby new data to the present debate and opens the floor for a broader discussion through a new lens, that of cost-effectiveness.