IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejmac/v12y2012i1n23.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Immigration, Fiscal Policy, and Welfare in an Aging Population

Author

Listed:
  • Akin Serife Nuray

    (University of Miami)

Abstract

I evaluate the welfare effects of exogenous changes in immigration policy by constructing a heterogeneous agent overlapping generations model with agents differing in age, origin, and skills. Calibrating the model to Germany, I match the main features of the social security and tax systems, and account for differences in inter-generational transmission of skills and fertility between immigrants and natives. I find that a prohibition on immigration reduces welfare for the natives, whereas a policy that allows an annual inflow equal to 0.4 percent of the population increases welfare for all agents on the new balanced growth path. Interactions between the social security system, taxes, and equilibrium prices are crucial: immigration reduces wages, but raises the rental rate of capital and the number of workers per retiree, allowing for higher pension benefits and a lower consumption tax rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Akin Serife Nuray, 2012. "Immigration, Fiscal Policy, and Welfare in an Aging Population," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-45, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:12:y:2012:i:1:n:23
    DOI: 10.1515/1935-1690.2352
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/1935-1690.2352
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/1935-1690.2352?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Acemoglu, Daron & Pischke, J. -S., 2001. "Changes in the wage structure, family income, and children's education," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 890-904, May.
    2. S. Nuray Akin & Brennan Platt, 2012. "Running Out of Time: Limited Unemployment Benefits and Reservation Wages," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(2), pages 149-170, April.
    3. Jörn-Steffen Pischke & Johannes Velling, 1997. "Employment Effects Of Immigration To Germany: An Analysis Based On Local Labor Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 594-604, November.
    4. Chojnicki, Xavier & Docquier, Frédéric & Ragot, Lionel, 2005. "Should the U.S. Have Locked the Heaven's Door? Reassessing the Benefits of the Postwar Immigration," IZA Discussion Papers 1676, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Alan J. Auerbach & Jagadeesh Gokhale & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1994. "Generational Accounting: A Meaningful Way to Evaluate Fiscal Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 73-94, Winter.
    6. Holger Bonin, 2001. "Will it Last? An Assessment of the 2001 German Pension Reform," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 26(4), pages 547-564, October.
    7. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Reexamining The Impact Of Immigration On The Labor Market," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 9, pages 235-274, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Eisenhauer, Philipp & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2008. "Assessing intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 119-137.
    9. Rachel M. Friedberg & Jennifer Hunt, 1995. "The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 23-44, Spring.
    10. Herbert Brücker & Elke J. Jahn, 2011. "Migration and Wage‐setting: Reassessing the Labor Market Effects of Migration," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113, pages 286-317, June.
    11. Anonymous, 1960. "International Monetary Fund," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 210-211, January.
    12. Anonymous, 1960. "International Monetary Fund," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 337-338, April.
    13. Anonymous, 1960. "International Monetary Fund," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 468-472, January.
    14. Shinichi Nishiyama & Kent Smetters, 2007. "Does Social Security Privatization Produce Efficiency Gains?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1677-1719.
    15. Eberhard, Juan, 2012. "Immigration, Human Capital and the Welfare of Natives," MPRA Paper 37844, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Shinichi Nishiyama & Kent Smetters, 2005. "Consumption Taxes and Economic Efficiency with Idiosyncratic Wage Shocks," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 1088-1115, October.
    17. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Christina Benita Wilke, 2003. "The German Public Pension System: How it Was, How it Will Be," MEA discussion paper series 03034, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    18. Bernd Raffelhuschen & Jan Walliser & Willi Leibfritz, 1999. "Unification and Aging in Germany: Who Pays and When?," NBER Chapters, in: Generational Accounting around the World, pages 277-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Juan C. Conesa & Dirk Krueger, 1999. "Social Security Reform with Heterogeneous Agents," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 2(4), pages 757-795, October.
    20. Borsch-Supan, Axel & Schnabel, Reinhold, 1998. "Social Security and Declining Labor-Force Participation in Germany," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 173-178, May.
    21. Eisenhauer, Philipp & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2008. "Assessing intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 119-137.
    22. Anonymous, 1960. "International Monetary Fund," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 668-669, October.
    23. Wido Geis, 2010. "High Unemployment in Germany: Why do Foreigners Suffer Most?," ifo Working Paper Series 90, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    24. Eisenhauer, Philipp & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2008. "Assessing intergenerational earnings persistence among German workers," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 119-137.
    25. Hans Fehr, 2000. "Pension Reform during the Demographic Transition," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 419-443, September.
    26. Luisa Fuster & Ayse Imrohoroglu & Selahattin Imrohoroglu, 2003. "A welfare analysis of social security in a dynastic framework," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(4), pages 1247-1274, November.
    27. Alan J. Auerbach & Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Willi Leibfritz, 1999. "Generational Accounting around the World," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number auer99-1.
    28. Axel H. Börsch-Supan & Christina B. Wilke, 2003. "The German Public Pension System: How it Was, How it Will Be," Working Papers wp041, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    29. Börsch-Supan, Axel & Reil-Held, Anette & Christina Benita Wilke, 2003. "How to make a Defined Benefit System Sustainable: The Sustainability Factor in the German Benefit Indexation Formula," MEA discussion paper series 03037, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Şerife Genç İleri, 2019. "Selective immigration policy and its impacts on Canada's native‐born population: A general equilibrium analysis," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(3), pages 954-992, August.
    2. Gurgen Aslanyan, 2012. "Immigration Control & Long-Run Population Welfare," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp453, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Vikhrov Dmytro, 2013. "Welfare Effects of Labor Migration," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp491, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hans Fehr & Christian Habermann & Fabian Kindermann, 2008. "Social Security with Rational and Hyperbolic Consumers," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 884-903, October.
    2. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2011. "Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 1-32, Spring.
    3. Fanny A. Kluge, 2009. "Transfers, consumption and income over the lifecycle in Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Limam Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, 2015. "Consumer price index and economic growth: A case study of Mauritania 1990 - 2013," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(2), pages 16-23, February.
    5. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Michalis Nikiforos & Gennaro Zezza, 2017. "Stock-Flow Consistent Macroeconomic Models: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1204-1239, December.
    6. Berbée, Paul & Brücker, Herbert & Garloff, Alfred & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2022. "The labor demand effects of refugee immigration: Evidence from a natural experiment," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-069, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Mr. Andrea Bubula & Ms. Inci Ötker, 2002. "The Evolution of Exchange Rate Regimes Since 1990: Evidence From De Facto Policies," IMF Working Papers 2002/155, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Manuel Jr. Pastor, 1988. "Ascenso y caída de la heterodoxia peruana: un modelo simple de del nuevo estructuralismo," Apuntes. Revista de ciencias sociales, Fondo Editorial, Universidad del Pacífico, vol. 15(23), pages 41-71.
    9. Tochukwu Timothy Okoli & Ajibola Rhoda Oluwafisayomi, 2019. "Investigating the Banking Sector Development Transmission Mechanism of Financial Development to Growth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 11(2), pages 120-131.
    10. Kose, M. Ayhan & Sugawara, Naotaka & E. Terrones, Marco, 2020. "Global Recessions," CEPR Discussion Papers 14397, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Mohelsky, Lukas, 2010. "Eastern Europe shifts second gear," MPRA Paper 33148, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Mar Delgado-Téllez & Esther Gordo & Iván Kataryniuk & Javier J. Pérez, 2022. "The decline in public investment: ``social dominance’’ or too-rigid fiscal rules?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(10), pages 1123-1136, February.
    13. André Roncaglia De Carvalho & - André M. Marques, 2018. "Economic Development And Inflation: A Theoretical And Empirical Analysis," Anais do XLIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 44th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 41, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    14. Ms. Dalia S Hakura, 2007. "Output Volatility and Large Output Drops in Emerging Market and Developing Countries," IMF Working Papers 2007/114, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Richard J. Cebula, 2014. "An exploratory analysis of the impact of budget deficits and other factors on the ex post real interest rate yield on tax-free municipal bonds in the United States," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(19), pages 1297-1302, October.
    16. Victor Argy & Erich SpitÄller, 1980. "The joint determination of changes in output and prices in the seven main industrial countries," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 116(1), pages 87-113, March.
    17. Mérette, Marcel & Georges, Patrick & Dissou, Yazid, 2008. "Liberalizing Foreign Direct Investment Restrictions in Canada: A Multi-Country Computable General Equilibrium Analysis," Conference papers 331743, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    18. Ortega, Javier & Verdugo, Gregory, 2014. "The impact of immigration on the French labor market: Why so different?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 14-27.
    19. Maxwell J. Fry, 1981. "Inflation and economic growth in Pacific Basin developing economies," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Fall, pages 8-18.
    20. Michael D. Bordo, 1993. "The gold standard, Bretton Woods and other monetary regimes: a historical appraisal," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Mar, pages 123-191.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:12:y:2012:i:1:n:23. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.