Study on the fiscal and economic effects of asylum and displaced persons migration
Study report: Economic and fiscal effects of asylum and displaced persons migration
Press release: Rapid labor force participation as the key to balancing the costs of integrating refugees and displaced persons in Austria
DI Johannes Berger
Head of the Labour Market and Social Security Research Section
On behalf of the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), the economic research institute EcoAustria analyzed the economic and fiscal effects of asylum and displaced person migration for Austria. The study focuses on asylum migration from 2015 to 2022 and the migration of displaced persons from Ukraine in 2022, comparing the income and expenses incurred by the Austrian state. The study thus depicts both the costs and the revenues of asylum and displaced person migration to Austria and provides forecasts of the budgetary effects up to 2025 in order to be able to map medium-term effects.
Based on the comparison of income and expenditure, a negative balance with a decreasing trend can be seen with regard to asylum and displaced person migration in the period under review from 2015 to 2025. Overall, net additional expenditure of EUR 8.8 billion for asylum migration and EUR 1.2 billion for displaced person migration is calculated for the period from 2015 to 2025. Forecasts prepared as part of the study show a gradual reduction in additional expenditure. The majority of government expenditure for asylum and displaced person migration is spent on basic services, the education system and health services. Asylum migration is also relevant in terms of consumption taxes, social security contributions and payroll taxes as well as income tax.
The results show that the integration of refugees and displaced persons into the Austrian labor market is the main factor for the cost balance of asylum and displaced person migration.
However, it is crucial for positive scenarios that the potential for the labor market is exploited and that persons entitled to asylum and subsidiary protection as well as displaced persons can actually be integrated into the labor market. At the same time, a significant increase in the unemployment rate can be observed due to the migration of asylum seekers and displaced persons, as unemployment among refugees and displaced persons is higher compared to the Austrian population.
This study was prepared in April 2023 and is based on the best available data at that time.
