Arbeitspapier

Migration in an enlarged EU: a challenging solution?

The 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union were unprecedented in a number of economic and policy aspects. This essay provides a broad and in-depth account of the effects of the post-enlargement migration flows on the receiving as well as sending countries in three broader areas: labour markets, welfare systems, and growth and competitiveness. Our analysis of the available literature and empirical evidence shows that (i) EU enlargement had a significant impact on migration flows from new to old member states, (ii) restrictions applied in some of the countries did not stop migrants from coming but changed the composition of the immigrants, (iii) any negative effects in the labour market on wages or employment are hard to detect, (iv) post-enlargement migration contributes to growth prospects of the EU, (v) these immigrants are strongly attached to the labour market, and (vi) they are quite unlikely to be among welfare recipients. These findings point out the difficulties that restrictions on the free movement of workers bring about.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 3913

Classification
Wirtschaft
International Migration
Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
Subject
Migration
migration effects
EU Eastern enlargement
free movement of workers
EU-Erweiterung
Internationale Wanderung
Internationale Arbeitsmobilität
Freizügigkeit
EU-Staaten
EU-Staaten (Osteuropa)

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Kahanec, Martin
Zimmermann, Klaus F.
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
(where)
Bonn
(when)
2008

Handle
URN
urn:nbn:de:101:1-2009011996
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Kahanec, Martin
  • Zimmermann, Klaus F.
  • Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Time of origin

  • 2008

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