Work

Welfare Magnet Hypothesis, Fiscal Burden, and Immigration Skill Selectivity

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the effect of welfare state generosity on the difference between skilled and unskilled migration rates, and the role of mobility restriction in shaping this effect. We utilize the free labor movement within the European Union plus Norway and Switzerland (EUR) and the restricted movement from outside the EUR in order to compare the free‐migration regime to the restricted‐migration regime. We find strong support for the magnet hypothesis under the free‐migration regime, and the fiscal burden hypothesis under the restricted‐migration regime, even after controlling for differences in educational quality and returns to skills in source and host countries.

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Economics

DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12092

Authors: Assaf Razin, Jackline Wahba

Institutions: Cornell University, University of Southampton

Language: English

Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council