quota system
quota system — noun
1. an official set of rules that fixes the maximum number of foreigners a country w
an official set of rules that fixes the maximum number of foreigners a country will let move in and settle each year
Canada introduced a strict quota system to control how many workers arrive each spring.
introduce a quota system to control numbers
Under the new quota system, only ten thousand refugees may settle in the country yearly.
under the quota system, only [N] may [verb]
Many families waited years because the quota system capped immigrant visas at a low figure.
Critics argued the quota system unfairly blocked skilled nurses from poorer nations.
Australia loosened its quota system after farms struggled to find seasonal fruit pickers.
- immigration cap
stresses the maximum limit rather than the framework that administers it
- intake limit
plainer and less formal; just the number a country accepts, with no implied rules
- open-door policy
lets people enter with no numerical limit
文法句型
a quota system for + noun
a quota system on + noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from senses 2 and 3: here the limit falls on people moving in to live, not on jobs and study places for a group, nor on traded goods.
常見錯誤
2. an official rule that fixes how many places at a college or company a group such
an official rule that fixes how many places at a college or company a group such as women or an ethnic minority should receive — either as a guaranteed share or a firm upper limit
The university runs a quota system that reserves thirty places for rural students.
quota system that reserves [N] places for [group]
Padma's law firm adopted a quota system to hire more women into senior roles.
adopt a quota system to hire more [group]
Dario complained that the quota system gave factory jobs based on ethnicity, not skill.
After the quota system began, the medical school admitted far more disabled applicants.
The army scrapped its old quota system that once capped the number of female officers.
- affirmative action
the broader policy goal; a quota system is one concrete tool used to reach it
- positive discrimination
British term; stresses favouring an under-represented group
- reservation system
common in India for guaranteed places allotted by caste or group
- merit-based selection
chooses purely on ability, ignoring group membership
文法句型
a quota system for + noun
a quota system that + clause
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about places in jobs or education for a specific group, not the number of immigrants a country admits. Common in debates over affirmative action.
常見錯誤
3. an official scheme that caps how much of a certain product may be imported into
an official scheme that caps how much of a certain product may be imported into or sold out of a country
Japan operates a quota system that caps how much foreign rice reaches its markets.
quota system that caps how much [goods]
The trade quota system allows only two thousand tonnes of sugar to be imported yearly.
quota system allows only [amount] to be imported
Steel producers protested when the government tightened its quota system on cheap imports.
Brazil expanded its quota system to let more coffee leave its ports each season.
A strict quota system kept cheap foreign cars out of the local market for decades.
- import quota
covers the inbound half only; a quota system can also cap exports
- trade restriction
any barrier to trade, broader than a fixed numeric cap
- free trade
places no limit on the quantity of goods crossing borders
文法句型
a quota system on + noun
a quota system for + noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from senses 1 and 2: here the limit falls on traded goods crossing a border, not on people or on job and study places. Often discussed alongside tariffs in trade policy.