Welfare States and Migration: How Will the Pandemic Reshape a Complex Relationship?
This MPI Europe webinar reflects on the implications of this current moment for European economies and societies and the role of immigration and immigrant integration policy, and highlights research from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on the fiscal and demographic impacts of migration.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe was facing a set of interlocking challenges—a rise in spontaneous migration, an aging population, and a changing labor market—all of which put pressure on public finances. The public-health crisis has further exacerbated the situation, imposing huge costs on governments as they scramble to safeguard employment and protect vulnerable groups, including migrants disproportionately affected by job losses. Will this "perfect storm" rock the foundations of European welfare systems in the long term, and how? Will welfare states manage to adapt, and if so, what are the most promising innovations? How can governments close gaps in the social safety net, while laying the groundwork for economic recovery and long-term sustainability?
Join MPI Europe for a two-part event examining these important questions. In the first session, veteran migration thinkers Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Grete Brochmann reflect on the implications of this current moment for European economies and societies, and the role of immigration. The second session highlights research from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on the fiscal and demographic impacts of migration. Speakers explore the pandemic’s particular effects on migrants and refugees, gaps in the social safety net, the role immigrant integration policy can play in maximizing the benefits of migration, and smart ideas that governments are implementing to ensure immigration is an economic and demographic asset for the future.
Speakers:
Grete Brochmann, Professor, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Demetrios G. Papademetriou, President Emeritus and Distinguished Transatlantic Fellow, Migration Policy Institute (MPI); founder, MPI Europe
Jacopo Mazza, Scientific Officer, Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Liam Patuzzi, Policy Analyst, MPI Europe
Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies, Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute
Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Associate Director, International Program, MPI
Moderators:
Meghan Benton, Director for Research, MPI Europe and MPI International Program
Sponsors
Integration Futures Working Group
The Integration Futures Working Group convenes senior European policymakers and others to debate forward-looking integration policy through peer exchange, original research, and off-the-record dialogue to achieve better integration outcomes.
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