Fiscal Implications of Immigration-A Net Present Value Calculation

Focusing on the net fiscal effects, the gain from admitting immigrants is computed for a welfare state with large expenditures and a large tax burden (Sweden). Prices and behavior are held constant, which allows a detailed analysis of the effects of immigration. The present value of future tax revenues minus outlays is potentially large; USD 23,500 per young working-age immigrant, but an "average" new immigrant represents a net government loss of USD 20,500. The dominant factors are employment rates and age. For young working-age immigrants, the "break-even" participation rate for which the gain would be zero is 60%, well below the empirical rate for this group. Copyright The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics", 2003 .