Martin Kahanec delivered an invited speech “Unemployment Benefits and Immigration: Evidence from the EU” at the workshop “Immigration in OECD countries: fiscal impact and public opinion” organized by the OECD in cooperation with CEPII on October 14, 2011, in Paris. In his speech he argued that welfare magnet hypothesis is an unfounded myth when it comes to the question whether an increase in the share of unemployment benefits spending in GDP in a given country leads to additional inflows of immigrants. The positive correlation between welfare generosity and immigration in raw data, he reasoned, can be explained by reverse channels, through which immigration increases welfare spending. This could happen for example if immigrants disproportionally take up welfare, or if policy becomes more welfare generous in wake of immigration.

See the program here: http://www.cepii.fr/…/reunion.asp?…