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Immigration is one of the most important policy debates. Often this topic appears to be related to concerns that immigrants harm the labor market prospects of natives.
According to Brian Bell, who examines whether poor market opportunities lead to migrant crime, "[t]he evidence, based on empirical studies of many countries, indicates that there is no simple link between immigration and crime, but legalizing the status of immigrants has beneficial effects on crime rates."
"Crucially, the evidence points to substantial differences in the impact on property crime, depending on the labor market opportunities of immigrant groups," Bell adds.
IZA World of Labor author James P. Smith has also looked at the taxpayer effects of immigration and concludes that: "in the long term, the effects are positive in the US and in several European countries, and strongly positive for better-educated immigrants, but negative in other areas and for poorly educated and illegal immigrants and refugees."
He adds that: "[t]he same calculations are needed for countries losing people by outmigration. High-skilled young immigrants who work provide the highest taxpayer benefits; allowing immigrants and their progeny to reside permanently provides a net benefit to society."
Read Brian Bell's full article: Crime and immigration
Read further articles on migration and ethnicity:
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