Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:21:51.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Immigration, free movement and the EU referendum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Jonathan Portes
Jonathan Portes*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
*
E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Immigration and free movement are central issues in the UK's referendum on EU membership. Although free movement was a founding principle of the EU, it only became of central economic and political importance after the expansion of the EU eastward in 2004. For the UK, the economic impacts of recent EU migration appear to have been relatively benign, even for the low paid and low skilled. The UK's recent ‘renegotiation’, which focused on the largely irrelevant issue of ‘benefit tourism’, will make little difference. A vote to Leave, however, will potentially take us into new territory for UK immigration policy,

Keywords

immigrationfree movementEuropean UnionF22J61N34
Type
Research Articles
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 236 , May 2016 , pp. 14 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This paper draws heavily on Rolfe and Hudson-Sharp (2016, forthcoming). I am grateful to Heather Rolfe (NIESR) and Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge) for helpful comments. Funding in support of this research was provided by the ESRC's UK in a Changing Europe programme, of which the author is a Senior Fellow.

References

Anderson, B.Ruhs, M.Rogaly, B.Spencer, S. (2006), ‘Fair enough? Central and Eastern European migrants in low-wage employment in the UK’, COMPAS, available from: http://www.irr.org.uk/pdf/Fair_Enough.pdf (accessed: 31 July 2015).Google Scholar
CIPD (2014), The Growth of EU Labour. Assessing the Impact on the UK Labour Market, CIPD http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/the-growth-of-eu-labour-assessing-impact-uk-labour-market_2014.pdf.Google Scholar
CIPD (2015), Labour Market Outlook, Autumn 2015 report.Google Scholar
Constant, A.F. (2014), ‘Do migrants take the jobs of native workers?’ IZA World of Labor, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impacts-of-migration-on-uk-native-employment-an-analytical-review-of-the-evidence.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dustmann, C.Casanova, M.Fertig, M.Preston, I.Schmidt, C.M. (2003), The Impact of EU Enlargement on Migration Flows, Home Office Online Report 25/03.Google Scholar
Dustmann, C.Frattini, T. (2014), ‘The fiscal effects of immigration to the UK’, Economic Journal, 124(580).Google Scholar
European Commission (1957), http://europa.eu/eu-law/decision-making/treaties/index_en.htmGoogle Scholar
European Commission (1985), Completing the Internal Market, White Paper from the Commission to the European Council, available at http://europa.eu/documents/comm/white_papers/pdf/com1985_0310_f_en.pdf.Google Scholar
European Commission (2004), Free Movement of Citizens Directive, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32004L0038&from=EN.Google Scholar
Evans, G.Mellon, J. (2015), ‘Immigration and the EU: attitudes and perceptions, myths and realities’, presentation to NIESR Conference on Immigration and the EU-UK relationship, available at http://www.niesr.ac.uk/sites/default/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/files/Presentation%208th%20december%20NIESR.pptxview at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/03/ozden.htm#author for a good summary of the consensus view on the economics of international http://civicrm/persist/contribute/files/Presentation%208th%20december%20NIESR.pptxview at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/03/ozden.htm#author for a good summary of the consensus view on the economics of international migration.) http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/371.Google Scholar
Galogski, B.Leschke, J.Watt, A. (2009), EU Labour Migration Since Enlargement: Trends, Impacts and Policies, Ashgate Publishing, available at http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/EU_Labour_Migration_since_Enlargement.html.Google Scholar
George, ALalani, M.Mason, G., Rolfe H. and Rosazza, C. (2012), ‘Skilled immigration and strategically important skills in the UK economy’, Migration Advisory CommitteeGoogle Scholar
George, A.Meadows, P.Metcalf, H. and Rolfe H. (2011), Impact of Migration on the Consumption of Education and Children's Services and the Consumption of Health Services, Social Care and Social Services, Report to the Migration Advisory Committee, London: MAC, available at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/27-analysis-migration/02-research-projects/impact-of-migration?view=Binary.Google Scholar
Giuletti, C. (2014), ‘The welfare magnet hypothesis and the welfare take-up of migrants’, IZA World of Labour, available at http://newsroom.iza.org/de/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/welfare-magnet-hypothesis-and-welfare-take-up.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodhart, D. (2013), National Citizen Preference in an Era of EU Free Movement, Submission to the Government's Review of the Balance of Competencies, July (updated December), available at www.demos.co.uk/files/DavidGoodhartSubmissionJuly2013.pdf.Google Scholar
Green, A.Atfield, G.Adam, D.Staniewicz, T. (2013), Determinants of the Composition of the Workforce in Low Skilled Sectors of the Economy, Warwick Institute for Employment Research report to MAC https://www.gov.uk/govemment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257272/warwick-insti.pdf.Google Scholar
Hansen, R. (2015), ‘An Australian points system for Britain?’, King's College London, available at http://ukandeu.ac.uk/an-australian-points-system-for-britain/.Google Scholar
Holland, D.Fic, T., Rincon-Aznar, A.Stokes, L.Paluchowski, P. (2011), Labour Mobility Within the EU – the Impact of Enlargement, London, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.Google Scholar
Home Office and Department for Business and Skills (2014), ‘The impacts of migration on uk native employment: an analytical review of the evidence’, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impacts-of-migration-on-uk-native-employment-an-analytical-review-of-the-evidence: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/pa015.pdf.Google Scholar
Kahanec, M.Pytliková, M.Zimmermann, K.F. (2014), ‘The free movement of workers in an enlarged European Union: institutional underpinnings of economic adjustment’, IZA discussion paper 8456, available at http://ftp.iza.org/dp8456.pdf.Google Scholar
Koikkalainen, S. (2011), Free Movement in Europe: Past and Present, Migration Policy Institute, April, available at http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/free-movement-europe-past-and-present.Google Scholar
Lisenkova, K. (2014), ‘The long-term economic impact of reducing migration in the UK’, National Institute Economic Review, 229, August, R22–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCollum, D.Findlay, A. (2015), ‘Flexible’ workers for ‘flexible’ jobs? The labour market function of A8 migrant labour in the UK’, Work Employment & Society, 29 (3), pp. 427–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Migration Advisory Committee (2008), Identifying Skilled Occupations Where Migration Can Sensibly Fill Labour Shortages, London: Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).Google Scholar
Migration Advisory Committee (2014), ‘Migrants in low skilled work’: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-in-low-skilled-work.Google Scholar
Migration Advisory Committee (2016), ‘Review of Tier 2: Balancing migrant selectivity, investment in skills and impacts on UK productivity and competitiveness’, London: Migration Advisory Committee.Google Scholar
Migration Watch (2016), ‘UK immigration policy outside the EU’, available at http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/371.Google Scholar
Mundell, R.A. (1961), ‘A theory of optimum currency areas’, American Economic Review, 51.Google Scholar
Nardelli, A. (2015), ‘Osborne reliant on rising immigration levels to achieve budget surplus’, The Guardian, December, available at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/01/osborne-reliant-on-rising-immigration-levels-to-achieve-budget-surplushttp://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/free-movement-europe-past-and-present.Google Scholar
Nickell, S.Salaheen, J. (2015), ‘The impact of immigration on occupational wages: evidence from Britain’, Staff Working Paper No. 574, available at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/Pages/workingpapers/2015/swp574.aspx.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozden, C. (2015), ‘A long commute’, IMF, Finance and Development, 52, 1, March, available at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/03/ozden.htm.Google Scholar
Pauritus, V. (2014), ‘“Economic migrants” or “middling transnationals”? East European migrants’ experiences of work in the UK’, International Migration, 52 (1), pp. 36–55.Google Scholar
Portes, J. (2014), ‘Benefit Tourism: the Commission gives us some facts’: http://niesr.ac.uk/blog/benefit-tourism-commission-gives-us-some-facts#.VKP-gysa-gw.Google Scholar
Preston, I. (2014), ‘The effect of immigration on public finances’, 5 November, VOX EU: http://www.voxeu.org/article/immigration-and-public-finances.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolfe, H. and Hudson-Sharp, N. (2016), The Impact of Free Movement on the Labour Market: Case Studies of Hospitality, Food Processing and Construction, London: NIESR.Google Scholar
Ruhs, M.Martin, P. (2008), ‘Numbers vs. rights: trade-offs and guest worker programs’, International Migration Review, 42(1), pp. 249–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SQW(2010), Immigration and Employers’ Incentives and Behaviour, Report to Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).Google Scholar
Varga, J. and in't Veld, J. (2014), The potential growth impact of structural reforms in the EU. A benchmarking exercise, European Economy Economic Papers 541, available at http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/economic_paper/2014/pdf/ecp539_en.pdf.Google Scholar
Vasilopoulou, S. (2016), ‘Explaining UK euroscepticism: freedom of movement, employment, welfare and the UK referendum’, University of York, Political Quarterly (forthcoming).Google Scholar
Venables, A.J. (1999), ‘Trade liberalization and factor mobility: an overview’, in Faini, R.C.de Melo, J.Zimmermann, K. (eds), Migration: The Controversies and the Evidence, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 23–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wadsworth, J.Vaitilingam, R. (2015), Immigration, the European Union and the UK Labour Market, LSE, CEP Policy Analysis, available at http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/pa015.pdf.Google Scholar