Study confirms positive economic impact of immigration

In a study published in Science Advances last week, French economists have used cutting-edge statistical to demonstrate the positive impact of immigration on European economies.

Drawing on a prize-winning dynamic statistical model and 30 years of data from 15 countries in Western Europe, the researchers distinguished different types of migration flow and isolated the macroeconomic trends associated with them, including GDP per capita, unemployment rate, and public finances.

The conclusions are unambiguous: immigration is an economic benefit for European countries. 

According to findings, an increase in immigration “at a given date produces positive effects up to four years after that date: GDP per capita increases, the unemployment rate falls, and additional public expenditure is more than compensated by the increase in tax revenues.”

An increase in the flow of asylum seekers – as happened between 1991 and 1999 with the Balkan wars, and after 2011 when the Syrian conflict started – similarly leads to positive outcomes over time: “no negative effect is observed and the effect becomes positive after three to five years, when a proportion of asylum seekers obtain asylum and join the category of permanent migrants.”

Read more about the study here.

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