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The impact of MENA-to-EU migration in the context of demographic change*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2011

FRÉDÉRIC DOCQUIER  and
LUCA MARCHIORI
FRÉDÉRIC DOCQUIER*
Affiliation:
IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain FNRS, Belgian National Fund of Scientific Research, Belgium
LUCA MARCHIORI
Affiliation:
IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain CREA, University of Luxembourg
*
Correspondence: Frédéric Docquier, IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Montesquieu, B-1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. E-mail: frederic.docquier@uclouvain.be.
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Abstract

We analyze the consequences of increasing MENA-to-EU migration on both sending and receiving regions. Using a general equilibrium model, we find that increasing MENA-to-EU migration generates significant changes in EU15 tax rates and income per capita. Compared to a non-selective immigration shock, selecting immigrants leads to a moderate reduction in tax rates, but to a greater impact on income per capita in the EU15. Emigration, especially if high-skilled, has a detrimental impact on MENA tax rates. Finally, the negative effects in MENA are mitigated if the brain drain leads to side-effects or is accompanied by increased education attainment at origin.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 243 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

*

This paper was prepared by Frédéric Docquier and Luca Marchiori, as part of the EC-Funded World Bank Program of International Migration from Middle East and North Africa and Poverty Reduction Strategies, a program of migration-related research and activities to identify and support the implementation of projects, policies, regional arrangements, and institutional reforms that will maximize the benefits of international migration flows and reduce their costs. We thank Jennifer Keller and Sara Johansson de Silva for helpful comments. The findings, conclusions and views expressed are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its executive directors or the countries they represent.

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