The Effect of International Migration on Unemployment: An Empirical Analysis on the European Countries

Europe attracts attention in terms of geography where immigrant movements are intense. The region received international migrant heavily because of World War II, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and its connections with Africa and Latin America. After the 2000s, the war, civil conflict and political instability in especially Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa increased the migration movements. Migration movements have important social and political consequences as well as economic consequences. The most essential of these is the fluctuations in the labour market. The study aims to empirically investigate the effect of international migration on unemployment rates in European countries. Panel regression analysis is preferred as a method. The analysis performed for 27 European countries and between 2000-2017 years. Empirical analysis results show that international migration does not have a statistically significant effect on unemployment. In addition, increases in GDP, public expenditures, education expenditures and wage rises reduce unemployment rates.