Openness can pay off: the economic impact of migrants

1 December 2015

Existing evidence from large refugee migrations and the recent influx of Syrian migrants into Middle Eastern countries shows no adverse effects of migration on native workers. In some instances, the findings show beneficial effects due to worker complementarities.

As the EU’s labour force shrinks as a share of the whole population in the coming decades, pressure on public entitlements will increase and demand for low-skilled services workers will grow. Migration from outside the EU could offset increasing dependency ratios and help to meet rising demand for nurses and carers.

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