The Foreign-born Population in the European Union and Its Contribution to National Tax and Benefit Systems : Some Insights from Recent Household Survey Data
Despite the purported surge in internal migration following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, data from the 2006 European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions show that internal migrants are a relatively small share of the Europea...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090414080729 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4093 |
| Summary: | Despite the purported surge in internal
migration following the 2004 enlargement of the European
Union, data from the 2006 European Union Survey of Income
and Living Conditions show that internal migrants are a
relatively small share of the European Union's
population. Depending on the exact definition used, only
about 1 to 2 percent of the population of European Union-13
countries (members prior to the 2004 enlargement, not
including Germany and Luxembourg) were born in other
European Union countries, while the corresponding share for
European Union-4 countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic,
and Slovakia) is even lower. By contrast, about 6 percent of
the population of European Union-13 countries was born
outside the European Union. On examining the demographic and
socio-economic background of the migrant population (both
from within as well as outside the European Union), this
paper finds that migrants tend to include a concentration of
both low as well as highly educated workers. Both sets of
migrants uniformly contribute to raising the working-age
population of receiving countries. Using data on average
incomes and taxes paid and benefits received by migrant and
non-migrant households, the authors find no evidence to
support the contention that migrant workers contribute much
less in taxes than the native-born population, or consume
significantly higher benefits. On the contrary, our
calculations suggest that migrant workers make a net
contribution of approximately 42 billion euros to the
national tax and benefit systems of European Union-13 countries. |
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