Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience

The financial and economic crisis of the late 2000s marked a sudden and dramatic interruption in international migration trends. It brought the growth of foreign-born populations to a virtual standstill in major immigrant-receiving countries of Europe and North America, and pushed many policymakers to review and reevaluate their approach towards immigration. The crisis has had a disproportionate impact on immigrant workers, especially young immigrants and members of disadvantaged minority groups—impacts which, in some countries, show little sign of receding. Meanwhile, stringent deficit-reduction plans, especially in some of the worst affected European Member States, have created an inhospitable environment for addressing these impacts through investments in immigrant integration. Where do we stand after three years of economic turmoil? What will be the legacy of the crisis for immigrant workers and their families in coming years? How have the impacts of the recession on immigrant workers themselves, and responses of publics and politicians, differed between the major immigrant-receiving countries of Europe and North America? And what lessons can these nations draw from one another as they emerge from crisis?

This event marks the release of MPI’s book, Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience, which addresses the impact of the economic crisis in seven major recipients of international migrants: the United States, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.