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5 - Economic consequences of immigration in Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2009

By
Herbert Brücker ,
Joachim R. Frick  and
Gert G. Wagner
Edited by
Craig A. Parsons  and
Timothy M. Smeeding
Herbert Brücker
Affiliation:
Head, Department of European Integration and Comparative Analysis, Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany
Joachim R. Frick
Affiliation:
Deputy Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Senior Research Associate, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany
Gert G. Wagner
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, Berlin University of Technology (TUB); Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Research Director German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany
Craig A. Parsons
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Timothy M. Smeeding
Affiliation:
Syracuse University, New York
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Summary

Introduction

The migration policies of the European Union (EU) and the other Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) are characterized by a two-fold approach. On the one hand, the free movement of labor has been defined since the Treaty of Rome (which established the EU in the 1950s) as one of the fundamental freedoms of the Common Market and has been subsequently implemented by the supranational legislation of the European Community. This integrative approach distinguishes the EU and the EEA from other regional trade agreements in the world such as NAFTA. On the other hand, the individual Member States of the EU and the EEA decide on immigration policies vis-à-vis third-country nationals. Most Member States have pursued a restrictive migration policy since the first oil-price shock in 1973. Aggregate migration figures reflect this restrictive approach: although the income gap on the European continent and between Europe and its neighboring regions resembles that between North and South America (Brücker 2002), annual net immigration rates in the EU and the EEA have only been half those of the United States and Canada (2.2 persons per thousand versus 4.4 per thousand) during the 1990s and early 2000s.

The restrictive immigration policies of the EU and the EEA vis-à-vis third countries face three main challenges today.

Type
Chapter
Information
Immigration and the Transformation of Europe , pp. 111 - 146
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Economic consequences of immigration in Europe
    • By Herbert Brücker, Head, Department of European Integration and Comparative Analysis, Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Joachim R. Frick, Deputy Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Senior Research Associate, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Gert G. Wagner, Professor of Economics, Berlin University of Technology (TUB); Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Research Director German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany
  • Edited by Craig A. Parsons, University of Oregon, Timothy M. Smeeding, Syracuse University, New York
  • Book: Immigration and the Transformation of Europe
  • Online publication: 23 June 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493577.005
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  • Economic consequences of immigration in Europe
    • By Herbert Brücker, Head, Department of European Integration and Comparative Analysis, Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Joachim R. Frick, Deputy Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Senior Research Associate, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Gert G. Wagner, Professor of Economics, Berlin University of Technology (TUB); Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Research Director German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany
  • Edited by Craig A. Parsons, University of Oregon, Timothy M. Smeeding, Syracuse University, New York
  • Book: Immigration and the Transformation of Europe
  • Online publication: 23 June 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493577.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Economic consequences of immigration in Europe
    • By Herbert Brücker, Head, Department of European Integration and Comparative Analysis, Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Joachim R. Frick, Deputy Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Senior Research Associate, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany; Research Fellow IZA, Bonn, Germany, Gert G. Wagner, Professor of Economics, Berlin University of Technology (TUB); Head, German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP); Research Director German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany
  • Edited by Craig A. Parsons, University of Oregon, Timothy M. Smeeding, Syracuse University, New York
  • Book: Immigration and the Transformation of Europe
  • Online publication: 23 June 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493577.005
Available formats
×