Immigration has a generally positive economic impact on receiving countries but the benefits depend on how well the migrants are integrated, the International Monetary Fund's First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton said on Monday.
Speaking at a seminar in Brussels, Lipton noted that the politics and economics of migration were at odds with each other because like trade, immigration created winners and losers and required time for societies and businesses to adjust.
"We have found that immigration has significantly increased GDP per capita in advanced economies because skill levels ... boost labor productivity and because in some places an influx of working-age migrants helps counteract labor shortages arising from demographic developments," Lipton said.