Immigration in Europe – It is old people everywhere who oppose immigration the most

The vast number of immigrants crossing the Mediterranean recently has been fueling anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, adding even more challenges to the debate about immigration policies. The difficulty that surrounds agreement on immigration matters is also evident if we look at the current state of the European Union immigration policy; rather than a common policy, it is a collection of 28 migration regimes with marked differences in terms of openness and flexibility.

This is a problem because Europe’s population is expected to age rapidly. And even though immigration won’t solve all of Europe’s economic woes, more open and flexible immigration policies will inject much-needed flexibility and dynamism into Europe’s graying economies. But major hurdles exist, not least in attitudes. Paradoxically, some of the countries projected to gain the most from a boost in working age populations are also overwhelmingly averse to immigrants.

Moreover, it is old people everywhere who oppose immigration the most, across the board (see Figure 1). In every country for which we have data (except Sweden) at least 40 percent of old natives claim to have negative attitudes towards immigrants. In countries such as Hungary or Cyprus that figure is 80 percent. Older natives disproportionately oppose immigration, regardless of income, education and employment status.

via Why do elderly people oppose immigration when they’re most likely to benefit? | Brookings Institution.