National Bank of Belgium study shows the enormous impact of migration on our economy

In 2018, former Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt and Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken ordered a study from the National Bank of Belgium (NNB). They wanted to know the economic impact of migration. Now, two years later, the study has finally been published. A number of things confirm what we already felt intuitively. Nevertheless, the focus must be on how to tackle migration. We must continue to focus on that.

Non-European migration costs a lot of tax money

The investigation shows that non-European migration costs a lot of tax money, especially when you look at the first generation of migrants. The N-VA emphasises that this also applies to the second generation: “The press text of the National Bank of Belgium states that the second generation has a net positive impact, but that is because the second generation is even younger.”

Of course, the second generation also gets older, and as people get older, the costs for the government in terms of healthcare and pensions increase. “People compare apples with oranges in this way. We have to look at the entire cost over the whole lifespan via the Net Present Value. That means that we have to look at the discounted value of future costs and revenues, as is the case with most economic impact studies,” the N-VA explains.

Important elements of the study

In addition, the study clearly indicates that family reunification and asylum migration are the “most expensive” migration channels. A major gap in the migration study is also that the cost of illegality is not calculated. That’s a bill of billions, especially if you add the extra investments in security and justice. “In addition, the NBB The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) is the Belgian central bank. Since the introduction of the euro, the NBB is one of the participants in the euro system, in which the European Central Bank, with headquarters in Frankfurt, plays a central role. The National Bank of Belgium is currently a public limited company. Half of the shares belong to the Belgian State. NBB speaks of a positive impact of migration on GDP The gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country, both by companies and the government. This term is usually used as a benchmark for a country’s prosperity. This is why the N-VA closely follows the evolution of the Belgian GDP. GDP . That is from a macro-economic perspective, of course. During the major European asylum crisis of 2015-2016, Germany’s GDP rose sharply due to additional billions spent on asylum reception, housing, food and guidance. In the meantime, however, we have seen a decrease in GDP per capita and thus the impoverishment of the individual German citizen. A chapter is devoted to this in my book entitled Continent zonder grens” (Continent without a border) Theo Francken says.

Change the approach drastically

In any case, this study shows that it is essential to continue to strive for a higher employment rate and better training and education for the migrants who are already here. In addition, we advocate stricter migration laws and the use of an Australian asylum model against illegal migration.