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I wonder about this, too. I mean, it's funny how people have all these rights including freedom of movement and residence, but only within the country.

The economists usually praise mobility of the population. I wonder if the current state of affairs is simply due to historical reasons.

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It seems there are roughly equal numbers of Europeans wanting to live in the US, and USians wanting to live in Europe. I imagine it being possible (albeit hard) to set up some kind of exchange system.

1 in 1 out.

But then, is 1 equal to the other?

I think it would work out ok. There are plenty of wealthy Americans who would flock to Italy, for instance, if it were easier. And plenty of Europeans who might give a job in the US a whirl and then go home. And plenty of Americans who would love to spend a year working in Europe. And vice versa.

I don't think you'd see big imbalances between areas with roughly equivalent living standards.

It works for the EU.

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