CELSI Scientific Director and ESET Science Award 2025 laureate, economist Martin Kahanec, gave an in-depth interview to The Slovak Spectator.

CELSI Scientific Director and ESET Science Award 2025 laureate, economist Martin Kahanec, gave an in-depth interview to The Slovak Spectator on migration, demographics, education, and Slovakia’s long-term economic prospects. The interview is freely available and published in English, making it accessible to an international audience.

Drawing on decades of research, Kahanec explains why migration is not a threat but a structural necessity for ageing societies like Slovakia. Empirical evidence shows that migrants typically fill labour shortages, support investment and job creation, and have neutral or mildly positive effects on wages overall. Where local pressures emerge, they are limited to narrow segments of the labour market and can be addressed through smart policy and adaptation.

He also addresses public concerns related to crime, social benefits, and integration, stressing that well-designed migration and integration policies maximise benefits not only for migrants, but for social cohesion and public safety as a whole. Data show that migrants do not come to live on benefits, but to work, build careers, and contribute.

A major part of the interview focuses on Slovakia’s demographic decline and brain drain, which Kahanec describes as a structural challenge far more severe than short-term crises. With births halved since the 1970s and many young people leaving, the key question is who will work, innovate, and sustain public services in the decades ahead.

Importantly, Kahanec offers a data-driven counterweight to overly pessimistic narratives about Slovakia. Real wages have more than doubled since EU accession, income inequality remains among the lowest in the EU, and living standards have improved substantially. While serious problems persist, painting everything black risks driving young people away and deepening a vicious cycle of decline.

🔗 The full interview (free, in English) available at: https://spectator.sme.sk/politics-and-society/c/award-winning-economist-slovakia-not-as-bad-as-we-often-make-out

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