Skilled migrants typically contribute to the welfare state more than they draw in benefits from it. The opposite holds for unskilled migrants. This suggests that a host country is likely to boost (respectively, curtail) its welfare system when absorbing high-skill (respectively, low-skill) migration. In this paper we first examine this hypothesis in a politico-economic setup. We then confront the prediction of the theory with evidence. In doing so, we reckon with an endogeneity problem that arise because the skill composition of migration is itself affected by the generosity of the welfare state.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
14738.
Length: Date of creation: Feb 2009 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14738
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Find related papers by JEL classification: F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
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