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In a developed country, low-skilled labor will be a net negative even if well integrated. That's the definition of being below the average of the recipient coun
by rafaelero 3y ago
In a developed country, low-skilled labor will be a net negative even if well integrated. That's the definition of being below the average of the recipient country.
- dougmwne 3y agoIn the US, the immigrant labor does not stay low skilled for long or was never low skilled in the first place. See: tech company CEOs
- csmiller 3y agoI assume they were referring to seasonal farm worker types, who don’t seem to experience as much social mobility.
- xxpor 3y agoEvidence? Evidence against: https://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/mariel-impact.pdf https://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/mariel-impact.pdf
- rafaelero 3y agoThe evidence is math. Even if you have a flat rate and everyone in the population is equally benefitted with social services, there are 50% of people who are contributing less than they take and 50% who are contributing more than they take. That looks even worse when we relax the flax rate assumption (most countries have progressive taxation) and the amount of social benefits a given segment receives (poor people tend to cost more). The only way to counteract that is if those low-skilled workers can generate more wealth (in the form of GDP and taxation) than they are consuming from public service, which of course will depend from country to country (the ones that have a higher social welfare will require higher output to be produced by the low-skilled immigrant to make the costs neutral). But then they won't be low-skilled anymore, they will be median or high-skilled. Edit: the paper you linked mention the effect over wages, not over tax revenue and spending.
- jakewins 3y agoIsn’t this assuming people stay in fixed “compartments” over their lifetime? My experience with social safety nets in EU is that they have been there when I’ve needed them - when I was a poor student, when I was sick — and now that I’m in a different life phase I pay that forward Your math makes sense at any given instant, but who is on what side changes if you view it over time
- rafaelero 3y agoTake a look at net contribution to Danish welfare state over time. https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20211218_EUC232.png https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/images/print-e...
- nonethewiser 3y agoDanish are the highest contributors with Western immigrants close behind. Non western immigrants contribute a lot less and MENAPT (middle east, north africa, pakistan, and turkey) are doing even worse.
- lukas099 3y agoThe immigrants will have children that will be better-acclimated and contribute more, no?
- rafaelero 3y agoThe graph includes the descendents.
- jhugo 3y agoIs there data on the average skill level of refugees?
- bipop5000 3y agoare you assuming that all refugees entering the country are the bottom of the barrel?
- rafaelero 3y agoI didn't say refugee. I said low-skilled labor.
- nonethewiser 3y agoRefugees tend to be low skill.
- crote 3y agoHigh-skilled labor often depends on low-skilled labor, though. If you want a chip factory, you'll first have to find someone to pour the concrete. There is no reason that being "below the average" has to imply being a net negative, both high-skilled and low-skilled labor are essential for a well-functioning economy.