IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/pubfin/v52y2024i2p182-221.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Public Finance Position of Immigrants in Europe: A Quantile Regression Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Majlinda Joxhe
  • Pasquale Scaramozzino
  • Skerdilajda Zanaj

Abstract

We contrast the net fiscal position (NFP) of immigrants versus natives using data from the European Survey on Living Conditions for 2007–2015. Using a quantile regression approach, we find that European and non-European migrants have a different fiscal position from natives only on the extreme tails of the NFP distribution. Non-EU migrants contribute even more than natives in the top quantile of the NFP, but they are more fiscally dependent than native citizens in the lowest quantile. These findings suggest that immigrants are not a public finance burden and do not increase public spending in the destination country. We also examine the relationship between migrants’ fiscal position and the fiscal perception of natives versus migrants as measured in the European Social Survey. We believe that by examining the effects of migrants on public spending, we can gain valuable insights into the economic implications of immigration and develop evidence-based migration policies, fostering integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Majlinda Joxhe & Pasquale Scaramozzino & Skerdilajda Zanaj, 2024. "The Public Finance Position of Immigrants in Europe: A Quantile Regression Approach," Public Finance Review, , vol. 52(2), pages 182-221, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:52:y:2024:i:2:p:182-221
    DOI: 10.1177/10911421231197280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10911421231197280
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10911421231197280?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Assaf Razin & Jackline Wahba, 2015. "Welfare Magnet Hypothesis, Fiscal Burden, and Immigration Skill Selectivity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 369-402, April.
    2. Dustmann Christian & Preston Ian P, 2007. "Racial and Economic Factors in Attitudes to Immigration," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-41, November.
    3. Andrew Clarke & Mikal Skuterud, 2013. "Why do immigrant workers in Australia perform better than those in Canada? Is it the immigrants or their labour markets?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1431-1462, November.
    4. Giuseppe Arcangelis & Majlinda Joxhe, 2015. "How do migrants save? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey on temporary and permanent migrants versus natives," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Assaf Razin & Jackline Wahba, 2015. "Welfare Magnet Hypothesis, Fiscal Burden, and Immigration Skill Selectivity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 369-402, April.
    6. Matti Sarvimäki, 2011. "Assimilation to a Welfare State: Labor Market Performance and Use of Social Benefits by Immigrants to Finland," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(3), pages 665-688, September.
    7. Jorgen Hansen & Magnus Lofstrom, 2003. "Immigrant Assimilation and Welfare Participation Do Immigrants Assimilate Into or Out of Welfare?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    8. Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim & Suwankiri, Benjarong, 2011. "Migration and the Welfare State: Political-Economy Policy Formation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262016109, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joxhe, Majlinda & Scaramozzino, Pasquale & Zanaj, Skerdilajda, 2021. "Fiscal Position of Immigrants in Europe: A Quantile Regression Approach," GLO Discussion Paper Series 758, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Alberto Alesina & Elie Murard & Hillel Rapoport, 2019. "Immigration and Preferences for Redistribution in Europe," Working Papers 2019-15, CEPII research center.
    3. Marcus H. Böhme & Sarah Kups, 2017. "The economic effects of labour immigration in developing countries: A literature review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 335, OECD Publishing.
    4. Corrado Giulietti & Jackline Wahba, 2013. "Welfare migration," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 26, pages 489-504, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Zaiceva, A. & Zimmermann, K.F., 2016. "Migration and the Demographic Shift," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 119-177, Elsevier.
    6. Paweł Kaczmarczyk, 2013. "Are immigrants a burden for the state budget? Review paper," RSCAS Working Papers 2013/79, European University Institute.
    7. Eduard Suari‐Andreu & Olaf van Vliet, 2023. "Intra‐EU migration, public transfers and assimilation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(360), pages 1229-1264, October.
    8. Di Iasio, Valentina & Wahba, Jackline, 2023. "Natives' Attitudes and Immigration Flows to Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 15942, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Anthony Edo & Lionel Ragot & Hillel Rapoport & Sulin Sardoschau & Andreas Steinmayr & Arthur Sweetman, 2020. "An introduction to the economics of immigration in OECD countries," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1365-1403, November.
    10. Murard, Elie, 2017. "Less Welfare or Fewer Foreigners? Immigrant Inflows and Public Opinion towards Redistribution and Migration Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 10805, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Łukasz Byra, 2023. "Two possible reasons behind the reluctance of low-skilled workers to migrate to generous welfare states," Working Papers 2023-24, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    12. Giuranno Michele G. & Biswas Rongili, 2019. "Internal Migration and Public Policy," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(4), pages 1-16, October.
    13. Tobias Müller & Silvio Hong Tiing Tai, 2020. "Individual attitudes towards migration: A re‐examination of the evidence," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1663-1702, November.
    14. Assaf Razin & Alexander Horst Schwemmer, 2020. "Ageing-Driven Migration and Redistribution: Comparing Policy Regimes," NBER Working Papers 26998, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Michael Christl & Alain Bélanger & Alessandra Conte & Jacopo Mazza & Edlira Narazani, 2022. "Projecting the fiscal impact of immigration in the European Union," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 365-385, December.
    16. Ian Preston, 2014. "The Effect of Immigration on Public Finances," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(580), pages 569-592, November.
    17. Assaf Razin, 2013. "MIGRATION into the WELFARE STATE: tax and migration competition," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 20(4), pages 548-563, August.
    18. Jakubiak Igor, 2017. "Migration and Welfare Systems – State of the Art and Research Challenges," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 1(48), pages 51-70, November.
    19. Huber, Peter & Oberdabernig, Doris A., 2016. "The impact of welfare benefits on natives' and immigrants' attitudes toward immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 53-78.
    20. Giuranno, Michele G. & Rongili, Biswas, 2012. "Inter-jurisdictional migration and the size of government," MPRA Paper 42604, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:52:y:2024:i:2:p:182-221. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.