Chapter 2: Economics or politics? Assessing immigration as a challenge to the welfare state
Category:
Chapter
Published:
18 Jan 2022
Page Range:
45–63
Collection:
Sociology, Social Policy and Education 2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839104572.00008
Keywords:
immigration; fiscal burden; welfare magnet; welfare state; politics; progressive's dilemma
Open access

This chapter assesses the extent to which immigration poses a challenge to the welfare state. To do this, I synthesize previous scholarship from economics, political science, and sociology to evaluate the economic and political implications of immigration for welfare states. Contrary to the fiscal burden and welfare magnet hypotheses, the most recent cross-national and longitudinal studies indicate that, on average, immigration's net fiscal impact is positive—albeit small. However, research on the political impact of immigration does provide evidence that immigration creates challenges for welfare states in regards to welfare attitudes, support for left parties, and redistributive social policies.

Cover Handbook on Migration and Welfare
Handbook on Migration and Welfare
Edited by
Markus M.L. Crepaz
Handbook
Published:
18 Jan 2022
Print ISBN:
9781839104565
eISBN:
9781839104572
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839104572
Pages:
544
Collection:
Sociology, Social Policy and Education 2022
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Front Matter
Introduction to the Handbook on Migration and Welfare: The contours of contested concepts
Part I: Taking Stock: Migration and the State of the Welfare State
Part II: Is Social Homogeneity a Precondition for Redistribution?
Part III: Political Institutions and Policies as Shapers of the Welfare-Migration Context
Chapter 10: Framing matters: Pathways between policies, immigrant integration, and native attitudes
Chapter 11: The politics of multiculturalism and redistribution: Immigration, accommodation, and solidarity in diverse democracies
Chapter 12: The politicization of immigration and welfare: The progressive's dilemma, the rise of far-right parties, and challenges for the left
Chapter 13: Inclusive solidarity? The social democratic dilemma: Between EU rules and supporters' preferences
Chapter 14: Institutional sources of trust resilience in diverse societies: The mitigating role of inclusive and egalitarian welfare state institutions
Chapter 15: Inequality, immigration, and welfare regimes: Untangling the connections
Chapter 16: Welfare states and migration policy: The main challenges for scholarship
Part IV: Political Culture, Migration, and Redistribution
Part V: The View from the Global South: The Effects of Migration on Origin Countries
Back Matter