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Immigration to the Land of Redistribution
Author(s) -
BOERI TITO
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
economica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.532
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1468-0335
pISSN - 0013-0427
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2010.00859.x
Subject(s) - redistribution (election) , immigration , welfare state , welfare , position (finance) , economics , inclusion–exclusion principle , demographic economics , labour economics , development economics , political science , market economy , finance , politics , law
Negative perceptions about migrants in Europe are driven by concerns that foreigners abuse welfare. Paradoxically, instruments of social inclusion are becoming weapons of mass exclusion. We compare evidence on welfare access and the net fiscal position of migrants with perceptions based on a largely unexploited database (EU‐SILC). We find no evidence that legal migrants, notably skilled migrants, are net recipients of transfers from the state. However, there is evidence of ‘residual dependency’ on non‐contributory transfers and self‐selection of unskilled migrants in the countries with the most generous welfare states. Alternative strategies to unbundle migration from welfare access are discussed.