Vliv migrace na ekonomický vývoj vyspělých zemí na příkladu Finska

Abstract

Human migration plays important role in the current global economy and also in the economies of developed countries. The scope and structure of the migrant population has changed and is still changing in dependence on the economic, political, demographic and other development of society. Migration can be defined as a process in which there is a movement of one or more persons, either within the boundaries of the state or across national borders. The main aim of this thesis is to analyze the impact of migration on economic development of the Finnish economy, further aim of the thesis is to define fundamental terms related to migration, general migration theories, a theoretical impacts of migration on economic development of sending and receiving countries, specify characteristics of migration in the European Union and analyze empirical literature about the impact of migration on economic development of countries. Migration affects a number of economic areas and indicators. For example, migration has impact on employment, wage levels, social system and also on economic growth of the country. Nevertheless, impact of migration on specific economic areas is mostly small. If we focus on the European Union, the scope and structure of migration varies significantly among countries. Total number of immigrants within the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Croatia is over 40 million people. The majority of immigrants are from third countries. Immigration in the EU affects a wage levels and unemployment slightly. The most positive effect on economic growth has skilled labour force. Impact of immigration on the social system varies widely between EU countries. If we look at migration in Finland we find that the present amount of immigrants is rather small. In 2010, the number of foreigners in Finland was nearly 168,000. Immigrants have a much higher unemployment rate in comparison with natives. The impact of immigration on employment in Finland is thus rather negative. Negative effects on Finland’s welfare system have especially less educated people which came from countries outside the OECD. However, after few years in the country, their negative effect on welfare system decline. The analysis also showed that Finland faces problem with brain drain. But due to the problem of an aging population, Finland will have to count on immigrants. Immigrants may also help with filling gaps in the Finnish labour market.