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Why Do People Migrate? Part 1: Facts
Florian Doerr
04. Sep 2016 23:55 Uhr
Kapitel 3 › For good or ill. The economic impact of refugees:
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This article from The Economist puts the finger on the painful question of the "economic cost" of hosting refugees.
Read the article and comment on the European experiences in this respect in your journal.
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Fiscal Peanuts
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The article mentiones some interesting figures, however it is impossible to assess or forecast the economic impact of refugees and migrants in general due to the lack of basic data. 0.35% of GDP as fiscal "burden" for migrants seems to be a very low figure and roughly the same ammount spent on official development assistance (ODA) by DAC countries (https://data.oecd.org/oda/net-oda.htm). As with development assistance, it is likely that more money is returned later in tax as spent initially on assistance.
Furthermore, the statement "given that most European countries redistribute income from rich to poor" could be questioned since neoliberal policies increase income inequality globally and rather systematically redistribute wealth from the bottom to the top via tax systems and other instruments. There is enough money in the world (as emphasized in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis rescue programs), and benefits for immigrants are likely to be fiscal peanuts in all OECD countries.
