I doubt that it was a calculated economic decision because refugees have a negative net lifetime contribution to the state's coffers. If it was an economic deci

I doubt that it was a calculated economic decision because refugees have a negative net lifetime contribution to the state's coffers. If it was an economic decision then Germany would have relaxed its immigration laws to attract more highly skilled immigrants, who have a net positive contribution. Insiders claim that Merkel was actually not open to taking in so many refugees, but that her decision was made because she was afraid of the negative press that would result from German border guards physically stopping hundreds of thousands of refugees from crossing the German border. When hundreds of thousands of people are coming, the only way to stop them is by erecting a fence and using the military. This will result in violence because people who have traveled halfway around the world and sold all their belongings will not be happy about that, and the logistics of keeping hundreds of thousands of people hydrated, fed, and warm at the border would be impossible. There is simply no way that Germany would have executed such a policy, even if somebody other than Merkel had been the chancellor. In this sense it was not a German decision to let in so many refugees; the decision was made by the refugees. Merkel could have told the German population that she didn't want to let in that many refugees but that she was practically powerless to stop it, but imagine the storm that would have caused. She decided to do the opposite.