Pop quiz #1 paragraph

The choice on construction of the Wall should be done within a rational choice framework, which assumes that amidst various discrete options for dealing with immigrants from Mexican border, the option with maximum benefits should be chosen.  The fitting of choice model to the set of information available relating to various options for dealing with the problem, the construction of the wall will not be viable if other options for controlling immigrants have better utility than the wall itself. This means that the benefits obtained from the wall cannot justify the cost incurred in the construction.  The Expected Utility of the wall includes the curbing of immigrants from the Mexico or that the building of the wall would lead to increased number of unrecorded immigrants into US.  The building of the Wall will not hinder the movement of immigrants though it may reduce their number. The wall may either reduce the number documented of immigrants or increase the number of undocumented immigrants.

The accounting cost of the wall can be expected to range between $15 and $ 25 billion, in addition to an annual maintenance of $ 700 million. This also equals the transaction cost that could be incurred by both governments (Smith, 2015).  The cost can be expected to increase, and with time the marginal cost can be expected to increase. The social costs relating to this policy includes the possibility of having more undocumented immigrants, since the wall may never prevent them from crossing over. The various questions that arise from the construction of the wall include: will the wall really prevent immigrants from crossing the border? Can the benefits gain from the wall justify the cost incurred in its construction?

References

Smith, T. M., (2015).Trump’s Wall and the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Immigration. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/trumps-wall-and-the-cost_b_8339144.html