Lowering Welfare Benefits: Intended and Unintended Consequences for Migrants and their Families

Arbeitspapier

Denmark's Start Aid welfare reform reduced benefits to refugee immigrants by around 50 percent for those granted residency after the reform date. The reform led to a sharp short run increase in labor earnings and employment, but it also induced a strong female labor force withdrawal, and a large and persistent drop in disposable income for most households. Furthermore, the reform caused a sharp increase in property crime among both females and males. Moreover, children's likelihood of being enrolled in childcare or preschool, their performance in language tests, and their years of education all decreased, while teenagers' crime rates increased.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CReAM Discussion Paper Series ; No. 05/19

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Incomes Policy; Price Policy ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General ; Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers: General
• Subject: Social assistance ; welfare state ; labor market outcomes ; migration

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Andersen, Lars Højsgaard ; Dustmann, Christian ; Landersø, Rasmus
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Centre for Research & Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London
• (where): London
• (when): 2019

Further information

• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET