6 votes

Migrants and refugees are good for economies: Analysis of thirty years of data from Western Europe refutes suggestions that asylum seekers pose a financial burden

8 comments

  1. [2]
    phos
    Link
    Interesting, thanks for posting this. Sadly I think anti immigration sentiment ignores economics for the most part. Still, one can hope. I'd have liked to see the breakdown by immigrant origin....

    Interesting, thanks for posting this. Sadly I think anti immigration sentiment ignores economics for the most part. Still, one can hope.

    I'd have liked to see the breakdown by immigrant origin. It'd be interesting to see which country produces the most valuable immigrants so to speak. It's probably reasonably difficult to do that though.

    4 votes
    1. muircurial
      Link Parent
      I believe you're only interested in the statistics, but assigning economic value to human worth is questionable at best. I'm not accusing you of doing this, but felt it was worth saying.

      I believe you're only interested in the statistics, but assigning economic value to human worth is questionable at best. I'm not accusing you of doing this, but felt it was worth saying.

      3 votes
  2. [6]
    tyil
    Link
    There's no link to the actual analysis, unless I'm missing something. I also feel like the article is misrepresting some parts: Migrants (and political refugees) can be beneficial, yes. But in the...

    There's no link to the actual analysis, unless I'm missing something. I also feel like the article is misrepresting some parts:

    • Migrants (and political refugees) can be beneficial, yes. But in the past 30 years we haven't had to deal with hundred thousands of them at once. Gradually, migration is mostly positive, but a huge horde at once doesn't necessarily mean it will be very positive because there's more of them.
    • Most current (war) refugees usually don't actually stay to work. They stay until their issues on the homefront are over, and then they leave. They have no interest in learning the native language or adapting to other societal values, because they don't plan to stay forever.
    1. [2]
      muircurial
      Link Parent
      Yes, you are missing something. References are at the bottom of the article and is footnoted in the article.

      Yes, you are missing something. References are at the bottom of the article and is footnoted in the article.

      5 votes
      1. tyil
        Link Parent
        Ah, I stopped scrolling when I got to the newsletter footer, as that usually is the part where they just start listing comments and other articles. Thanks!

        Ah, I stopped scrolling when I got to the newsletter footer, as that usually is the part where they just start listing comments and other articles. Thanks!

        3 votes
    2. [3]
      goodbetterbestbested
      Link Parent
      You are missing something because there is a link to the study in the article. Here it is copied from the bottom of the article: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaaq0883 The past 30...

      You are missing something because there is a link to the study in the article. Here it is copied from the bottom of the article: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaaq0883

      The past 30 years have in fact included many waves of hundreds of thousands of migrants in Western Europe. That is a consequence of the Schengen area and the end of the Cold War, in addition to numerous world conflicts.

      In what way does the article "misrepresent" war refugees? It is speaking to their economic impact, not vague accusations that they are culturally incompatible. How could the article misrepresent that when it's not the topic of the article at all?

      From the article:

      The study finds that soon after a spike in migration, the overall strength and sustainability of the country’s economy improves and unemployment rates drop.

      Many of the asylum seekers included in the study were those who fled the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, and those who have come more recently from Syria.

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        tyil
        Link Parent
        Because these aren't a long-term gain to the economy, since they leave after a while. I can acknowledge the positives to the economy apply to migrants that come to work here and plan to stay here,...

        In what way does the article "misrepresent" war refugees?

        Because these aren't a long-term gain to the economy, since they leave after a while. I can acknowledge the positives to the economy apply to migrants that come to work here and plan to stay here, though.

        You are correct that the article is only about economics, and not about other aspects of refugees, so I stepped out of context there.

        2 votes
        1. goodbetterbestbested
          Link Parent
          If someone comes and works in a country for a time, their contribution to the economy doesn't disappear after they leave. I'm really not sure what you're getting at.

          If someone comes and works in a country for a time, their contribution to the economy doesn't disappear after they leave. I'm really not sure what you're getting at.

          5 votes