How Refugees Benefit the Economy
Refugees have higher employment rates than people native to the U.S.
A 2015 report found that from 2009-2011 male refugees had a 67% employment rate while U.S. born males had a 62% employment rate. U.S. born and refugee women both had employment rates of 54%.
Refugees are more likely to be entrepreneurs.
A 2017 report found that in 2015 13% of refugees were entrepreneurs, with a U.S. born entrepreneurial rate of 9%.
In the same year, refugees’ businesses generated $4.6 billion.
Refugees tend to experience high rates of upward mobility.
A report found that after 25 years of living in the Unites States, the average refugee’s household income reaches $67,000, compared to the American median household income of $57,000.
A study done on Somali, Burmese, and Hmong refugees found that over a ten year period, these groups of people generally advanced from blue to white collar jobs, with roughly quarter of Burmese refugees becoming executives, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and engineers within that time frame.
These are three of many examples of refugees being likely to contribute positively to their economies. Refugees are generally more likely than the native born population to advance occupationally and fiscally. This results in the likelihood of refugees paying more money in taxes than the amount of money they receive in benefits. Also, due to their high rates of entrepreneurship, refugees contribute to their local economies by starting businesses and creating more jobs for the community.
This report found that refugees pay at least $20 billion to federal, state, and local taxes.
The same report shows the astounding rate at which refugees have started businesses in cities with the highest refugee populations.
A 1999 Study in Os (a small town in Norway), conducted to prove the harm of immigration on the economy, showed that over the past five years, immigrants had actually contributed 2.4 million Kroner ($300,000) to the economy.
One common anti-immigration or anti-refugee argument is that they take away jobs from and lower wages of hard-working Americans. However, this is very little evidence to support that claim.
The group of people most likely to experience wage decreases from immigration is prior immigrants.
The second most likely group to experience this is American high school drop outs.
For more information on immigration and wages + employment, visit this site!
Another reason why freer migration would benefit the economy is that immigration and border control is extremely expensive.
A 2003 study provided an estimate that the 25 richest countries in the world spend between $25 to $30 billion a YEAR on migration control.
Another study done by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research estimated that by the year 2000, the world would have lost $1,000 billion to migration control.
Here are some resources to learn more about the ways refugees contribute to the economy:
Jonathan Moses’ International Migration: Globalization’s Last Frontier