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Welfare Participation by Immigrants in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Drinkwater, Stephen

    (University of Roehampton)

  • Robinson, Catherine

    (University of Kent)

Abstract

Welfare participation is an important indicator of how successfully immigrants perform in the host country. This paper examines this issue for the UK, which has experienced a large growth in its immigrant flows and population levels in recent years, especially following EU enlargement in 2004. The analysis focuses in particular on the types of benefits that immigrants tend to claim as well as examining differences by area of origin. It also examines the factors that determine social benefit claims, including an investigation of the impact of education, ethnicity and years since migration. Social welfare claims vary considerably by immigrant group as well as by the type of benefit claimed in the UK. There is also some variation by gender within the migrant groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Drinkwater, Stephen & Robinson, Catherine, 2011. "Welfare Participation by Immigrants in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 6144, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6144
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    1. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2011. "Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 1-32, Spring.
    2. Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini & Caroline Halls, 2010. "Assessing the Fiscal Costs and Benefits of A8 Migration to the UK," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 1-41, March.
    3. Michael Baker & Dwayne Benjamin, 1995. "The Receipt of Transfer Payments by Immigrants to Canada," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(4), pages 650-676.
    4. Lorenzo Cappellari & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2014. "The Dynamics of Social Assistance Benefit Receipt in Britain," Research in Labor Economics, in: Safety Nets and Benefit Dependence, volume 39, pages 41-79, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Alan Barrett & Yvonne McCarthy, 2008. "Immigrants and welfare programmes: exploring the interactions between immigrant characteristics, immigrant welfare dependence, and welfare policy," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 24(3), pages 543-560, Autumn.
    6. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence from the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(2), pages 236-256, June.
    7. Christian Dustmann & Francesca Fabbri, 2005. "Immigrants in the British labour market," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 26(4), pages 423-470, December.
    8. Stephen Wheatley Price, 2001. "The employment adjustment of male immigrants in England," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(1), pages 193-220.
    9. Blume, Kraen & Verner, Mette, 2007. "Welfare dependency among Danish immigrants," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 453-471, June.
    10. Ken Clark & Stephen Drinkwater, 2009. "Dynamics and diversity: ethnic employment differences in England and Wales, 1991–2001," Research in Labor Economics, in: Ethnicity and Labor Market Outcomes, pages 299-333, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    11. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0702, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    12. Drinkwater, Stephen & Eade, John & Garapich, Michal, 2006. "Poles Apart? EU Enlargement and the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 2410, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini, 2014. "The Fiscal Effects of Immigration to the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(580), pages 593-643, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Cinzia Rienzo & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2015. "Targeting migration with limited control: the case of the UK and the EU," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Ibrahim Sirkeci & Necla Acik & Bradley Saunders, 2014. "Discriminatory labour market experiences of A8 national high skilled workers in the UK," Border Crossing, Transnational Press London, UK, vol. 2014(1402), pages 17-31, September.
    5. Nele van der Wielen, 2015. "Welfare participation: A comparison between immigrants and natives in the United Kingdom," Migration Letters, Migration Letters, vol. 12(2), pages 113-123, May.
    6. Ibrahim Sirkeci & Necla Acik & Bradley Saunders & Andrej Přívara, 2018. "Barriers for Highly Qualified A8 Immigrants in the UK Labour Market," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(5), pages 906-924, October.
    7. Clark, Ken & Drinkwater, Stephen, 2013. "UK Migration Policy and Migration from Eastern Partnership Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 7665, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Ibrahim Sirkeci & Necla Acik & Bradley Saunders, 2014. "Discriminatory labour market experiences of A8 national high skilled workers in the UK," Border Crossing, Transnational Press London, UK, vol. 4(1-2), pages 17-31, January-J.
    9. Ken Clark & Stephen Drinkwater, 2014. "Labour migration to the UK from Eastern partnership countries," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Lucia Kureková, 2013. "Welfare Systems as Emigration Factor: Evidence from the New Accession States," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 721-739, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; United Kingdom; benefit claims; EU enlargement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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