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Lessons
from Sweden on Settling Immigrants
Swedish
attempts to distribute new immigrants more evenly across the country
generally had unfavourable outcomes. This important conclusion appears
in a paper from the Centre for Economic Policy Research written by three
economists from Uppsala University, Per-Anders Edin, Peter Fredriksson
and Olof Åslund. They write, ‘ Eight years after immigration, we find
that the policy reduced earnings by 25 percent (among those who had
earnings), increased the rate of idleness (i.e. people neither working
nor studying) by one third, and led to a 40-percent rise in welfare
receipts.’ The policy was introduced in 1985 with the aim of reducing
high immigrant concentration in certain metropolitan areas. In its
strictest form it lasted until 1991.
The
results of the study also indicate that had people stayed on in the
municipalities to which they were assigned, the policy would have
worsened outcomes even more. Since many migrants chose to relocate from
regions with poor labour market prospects, the negative effects of the
reform were somewhat mitigated. The three economists conclude, ‘An
implication of our findings is that with a more careful choice of
municipalities, and with a policy more focused on the labour market,
this cost could at least to some extent have been avoided. This might be
instructive for future policies in Sweden and elsewhere’.
Notes
for Editors:
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The
Authors:
Per-Anders
Edin is
Professor of Economics at Uppsala University, Sweden and is also a
Research Fellow in CEPR’s Labour Economics research programme. Peter
Fredriksson and Olof Åslund are
at Uppsala University.
Settlement
Policies and the Economic Success of Immigrants
Per-Anders Edin, Peter Fredriksson, Olof Åslund
CEPR
Discussion Paper
No 2730
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