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Immigrant welfare receipt across Europe.

Authors :
Barrett, Alan
Maître, Bertrand
Source :
International Journal of Manpower; 2013, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p8-23, 16p
Publication Year :
2013

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, the authors aim to assess whether immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments relative to natives across a range of European countries. They also seek to examine relative rates of poverty across immigrants and natives. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for 2007. They present descriptive statistics and results from probit regressions. Findings – The authors find very little evidence that immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments when all payments are considered together. This is true whether they use descriptive analysis or regression analysis in which they control for relevant characteristics such as age, gender and education. They do find evidence of higher rates of poverty among immigrants. Research limitations/implications – As the data used do not give an indication of the length of time an immigrant has been in a destination country, the authors are unable to assess whether their observed patterns change with length of stay. Social implications – The results run counter to what seems to be a popular perception, namely, that immigrants are intensive users of welfare. Hence, attitudes may be altered. Originality/value – While other papers may have considered this issue, to the authors' knowledge, none have linked the poverty and welfare analyses. The findings raise the possibility that welfare systems are failing to keep immigrants out of poverty and this is important in the context of the inclusion agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
01437720
Volume :
34
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
International Journal of Manpower
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
88133768
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1108/01437721311319629