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Mustn't grumble: immigration, health and health service use in the UK and Germany

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  • Wadsworth, Jonathan

Abstract

A rise in population caused by increased immigration, is sometimes accompanied by concerns that the increase in population puts additional or differential pressure on welfare services which might affect the net fiscal contribution of immigrants. The UK and Germany have experienced significant increases in immigration in recent years and this study uses longitudinal data from both countries to examine whether immigrants differ in their use of health services than native born individuals on arrival and over time. While immigrants to Germany, but not the UK, are more likely to self-report poor health than the native-born population, the samples of immigrants use hospital and GP services at broadly the same rate as the native born populations in both countries. Controls for observed and unobserved differences between immigrants and native-born sample populations make little difference to these broad findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2012. "Mustn't grumble: immigration, health and health service use in the UK and Germany," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51513, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:51513
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    2. 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.
    3. Laura Jaitman & Stephen Machin, 2013. "Crime and immigration: new evidence from England and Wales," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2014. "Immigration, the European union and the UK labour market," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 57984, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Stephen Machin & Richard Murphy, 2017. "Paying out and crowding out? The globalization of higher education," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 1075-1110.
    6. Augustin De Coulon, 2016. "Where do immigrants retire to?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 297-297, September.
    7. Giuntella, Osea & Nicodemo, Catia & Vargas-Silva, Carlos, 2018. "The effects of immigration on NHS waiting times," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 123-143.
    8. Christian Dustmann & Giovanni Facchini & Cora Signorotto, 2015. "Population, Migration, Ageing and Health: A Survey," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1518, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    9. Bettin, Giulia & Sacchi, Agnese, 2020. "Health spending in Italy: The impact of immigrants," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. repec:cep:spccrr:spdorp03 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Philippe Aghion & Terra Allas & Timothy Besley & John Browne & Francesco Caselli & Richard Davies & Richard Lambert & Rachel Lomax & Stephen Machin & Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano & Christopher A. Pissari, 2017. "UK growth: a new chapter," CEP Reports 28b, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. 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.
    13. Morton Beiser & Feng Hou, 2014. "Chronic health conditions, labour market participation and resource consumption among immigrant and native-born residents of Canada," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 59(3), pages 541-547, June.
    14. Papageorgiou, Athanasios, 2018. "The Effect of Immigration on the Well-Being of Native Populations: Evidence from the United Kingdom," MPRA Paper 93045, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Stewart, Kitty & Cooper, Kerris & Shutes, Isabel, 2020. "What will ‘taking back control’ mean for social policy in the UK? Brexit, public services and social rights," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 105183, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    JEL classification:

    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General

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