The economic effects of immigration into the United Kingdom

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES the economic impact of immigration. The main emphasis is on the United Kingdom, but extensive material is also provided on other countries, both for comparison and to fill in certain gaps in the British evidence. Since 1997 a new UK immigration policy has displaced previous policy aims, which were focused on minimizing settlement. Large-scale immigration is now officially considered to be essential for the UK's economic wellbeing and beneficial for its society; measures have been introduced to increase inflows. The benefits claimed include fiscal advantages, increased gross domestic product per head, a ready supply of labor, and improvements to the age structure. Fears that large-scale immigration might damage the interests of unskilled native workers are discounted. We examine these claims as they relate to population and economy. We conclude that the economic consequences of large-scale immigration are mostly trivial, negative, or transient; that the interests of more vulnerable sections of the domestic population may well be damaged; and that any small fiscal or other economic benefits are unlikely to bear comparison with immigration's substantial and permanent demographic and environmental impact. We demonstrate that such findings are in line with those from other developed countries.