{"id":20397,"date":"2026-01-01T10:06:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/?post_type=article&#038;p=20397"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:02:38","slug":"can-migration-save-the-welfare-state-the-real-economics-of-migration","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/","title":{"rendered":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration"},"author":47,"featured_media":20421,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[139,196,84,191,141,149],"class_list":["post-20397","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-decentworkandeconomicgrowth","tag-demographics","tag-economics","tag-migration","tag-reducedinequalities","tag-sdg"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration | IESE Insight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IESE Insight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"pseager\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d7a2c42a4779bce0ca8bda03e5becba3\"},\"headline\":\"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-01T10:06:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":11,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/construction-site.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"DecentWorkAndEconomicGrowth\",\"demographics\",\"economics\",\"migration\",\"ReducedInequalities\",\"SDG\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration | IESE Insight\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/construction-site.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-01T10:06:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/construction-site.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/construction-site.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/articles\\\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/\",\"name\":\"IESE Insight\",\"description\":\"Relevant Business Knowledge\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IESE Insight\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/Logo-IESE.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2022\\\/11\\\/Logo-IESE.png\",\"width\":290,\"height\":290,\"caption\":\"IESE Insight\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.iese.edu\\\/insight\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d7a2c42a4779bce0ca8bda03e5becba3\",\"name\":\"pseager\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"pseager\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration | IESE Insight","description":"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration","og_description":"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/","og_site_name":"IESE Insight","article_modified_time":"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/"},"author":{"name":"pseager","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#\/schema\/person\/d7a2c42a4779bce0ca8bda03e5becba3"},"headline":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration","datePublished":"2026-01-01T10:06:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/"},"wordCount":11,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp","keywords":["DecentWorkAndEconomicGrowth","demographics","economics","migration","ReducedInequalities","SDG"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/","url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/","name":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration | IESE Insight","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp","datePublished":"2026-01-01T10:06:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-16T08:02:38+00:00","description":"Betting on migration to fund aging societies is not so simple. Joan Monras explains why the story is more nuanced than the politics suggest.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/construction-site.webp","width":1024,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/articles\/migration-demographics-welfare-economics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can migration save the welfare state? The real economics of migration"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/","name":"IESE Insight","description":"Relevant Business Knowledge","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#organization","name":"IESE Insight","url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/11\/Logo-IESE.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/11\/Logo-IESE.png","width":290,"height":290,"caption":"IESE Insight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/#\/schema\/person\/d7a2c42a4779bce0ca8bda03e5becba3","name":"pseager","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73a948b05de43f51815155b66872204c43eebc611d83517f790f975353029ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"pseager"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/20397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/20397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20681,"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/20397\/revisions\/20681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/insight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}