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International Migration And The Welfare State: Asian Perspectives, Noel Gaston, Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Immigration is a controversial topic in Australia and some of its Asian neighbours. Given the potential impact on native welfare, such as effects on relative wages and unemployment, there has been political mobilisation on the immigration question. The presence of a redistributive welfare state in all major immigrant host countries creates yet another margin on which immigration affects native welfare. The focus of the paper is whether a large intake of immigrants leads to a reduction in welfare state effort. It is often argued that steady increases in immigration lead to public pressure for stricter immigration controls or for less …