Europe’s migration experience and its effects on economic inequality

Martin Guzi, Martin Kahanec, Magdalena M. Ulceluse

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

This chapter provides the historical context for the past half-century in Europe, focusing specifically on the link between migration and economic development and inequality. The literature review suggests that there are several channels through which migration affects economic inequality between countries in one or the other direction, and it may decrease inequality within countries. The net effects are an open empirical question and are likely to depend on the institutional and policy context, sources and destinations of migration, and its type. The authors undertake an empirical analysis and find that immigration has contributed to reducing inequality within the 25 European Union (EU) countries over the 2003-2017 period. As the EU has attracted mostly high-skilled immigrants throughout this period, the authors’ results are consistent with the ameliorating effect of high-skilled migration on within-country inequality, as predicted by theory.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEurope’s Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages486-515
Number of pages30
ISBN (Electronic)9780197545706
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2021

Keywords

  • EU enlargement
  • Immigration
  • Income distribution
  • Inequality
  • Labour mobility

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