Britain’s failed experiment in boosting low-wage sectors

Brexiteers' plan to restrict immigration from Europe to boost productivity in low-wage sectors has failed, as productivity in these sectors has not increased and there has been no significant automation boom. The experiment to replace cheap foreign labor with robots or higher-skilled immigrants did not work due to a lack of commitment, poor quality of British managers, weak investment, and uncertainty around labor supply. The government needs to provide more certainty on immigration and tax policy to address these issues.

economist.com

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9/16/2023

New study questions economic consensus on immigration

A major paper challenges the notion that higher immigration is always vital for the economy, suggesting that a smaller population could have a higher quality of life and that predictions of dire effects from a shrinking population are implausible. This challenges the long-standing belief that mass immigration always brings economic benefits, highlighting the need for a serious discussion on the topic.