The economic impact of migration: UK and the West Midlands

1. The economic impact of migration: UK and the West Midlands George Windsor West Midlands Economic Forum, October 2013

2. This Presentation • Background • My research • Migration • UK context • West Midlands • Conclusions

3. Background • Commenced 1 December 2011 • Co-funded by Loughborough University and Paragon Law Ltd. • Supervisors: Dr. Liz Mavroudi; Dr. Adam Warren

4. My research (1) • Highly skilled migration and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the UK • Non-EEA migrants • Points Based System (PBS) • Focusing on Tier 1 Migrants • Tier 1 Entrepreneur • Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur • How is non-EEA high skilled entrepreneurial migration incentivised in the UK? - How does this relate to place? • How do non-EEA high skilled migrants negotiate UK migration policy? • How do non-EEA high skilled entrepreneurial migrants interact with social and cultural life between the UK and their home country?

5. My research (2) • National and regional manifestation of migration and fiscal policy and its impact on non EEA entrepreneurs • Participants: 57 Interviewees • Policy impact: Feedback and dissemination • UKBA and UKTI

6. Migration • Migration as variegated and complex • Multi-scalar geographies of migration • Flows of people and knowledge through defined spaces and geographies • Measuring migration • International Passenger Survey (IPS) • Labour Force Survey (LFS) • Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) data • Home Office data on asylum seekers and their dependents • = Long-Term International Migration (LTIM)

7. UK context • My focus: Political geography • Points Based System for non EEA migrants • High value, highly qualified, high capital: Tier 1 PBS • Liberal paradox (Hollifield 2004) • Total migration: 497,000 people immigrated to the UK in the year ending December 2012, which is a statistically significant decline from the 566,000 who immigrated during the previous year (ONS 2013) • Labour migration: 179,000 immigrated to the UK in the year ending December 2012 (ONS 2013) • International students: 180,000 immigrants arrived in the UK for formal study in the year ending December 2012 (ONS 2013) • Tier 1 (High value) migrants: year ending June 2013 fall in numbers with the previous 12 months, from 21,397 to 12,419 (-8,978) (Home Office 2013) • Fall in grants of extensions in the year ending June 2013, from 85,036 to 72,649 (-12,387) (Home Office 2013)

8. West Midlands (1) • Migration: In 2010, international migration resulted in a net increase of 13,000 people in the region. The net change from interregional migration was -8,000; that is 8,000 more people moved out of the region to other parts of the UK than arrived from other regions. (ONS 2013) • Labour Force Survey (LFS): there were around 122,000 non-UK nationals in employment in the West Midlands in summer 2006, representing 4.9% of total employment, of whom 86,000 had entered the UK since 1991 and 54,000 had entered since 2001. (Green et al. 2007) • Skills and labour shortage • Importance of institutional framework • Economic impact could be positive or negative

9. West Midlands (2)West Midlands Migrant Worker Employer Survey • Respondents to the West Midlands Migrant Worker Employer Survey were asked to assess the overall impact of employing migrant workers on their business: • 47% of employers surveyed reported a positive impact - with: • 36% indicating the impact as ‘very positive, with few problems’, and • 11% reporting that the overall experience was ‘generally positive, but with some problems’ • 48% of employers reported ‘overall little change’ in business performance • No employers cited a negative impact • The remainder didn’t know or refused to answer. (Green et al. 2007: 121)

10. West Midlands (3)West Midlands Migrant Worker Employer Survey (Green et al. 2007)

11. West Midlands (4)West Midlands Migrant Worker Employer Survey • “The economy would not possibly be as buoyant in this area without migrant workers. … There is no way on this earth you can sustain the economy without them.” • “They spend money, they work, they earn money and they spend money.” (Green et al. 2007: 124)

12. West Midlands and Birmingham (5) • Highly skilled migration and the proliferation of Creative Industries in Birmingham • ‘The research confirms that ‘hard’ economic factors (career and employment opportunities; education and universities; cost of living and affordability of housing) play a key role in the decision of individuals to come to the Birmingham city-region and these factors are more influential in comparison with soft ‘quality of life’ factors in attracting talent.’ (Brown et al. 2009a: 1) • ‘…challenges as a result of its industrial history and which as yet have not been completely overcome - despite a policy focus on physical regeneration and the economic restructuring/diversification that has occurred over the last 15 years.’ (Brown et al 2009a: 4)

13. West Midlands and Birmingham (6) • ‘service sector growth has been focused around Birmingham, commencing with an ambitious strategy of economic and physical regeneration the 1980s and 1990s which formed the catalyst in the transformation of the industrial/financial/service base of the city. Since the mid-1980s, Birmingham has tried to establish itself as an important exhibition and conference centre, notably with the construction of the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and has focused on ‘business tourism’ to boost service sector employment. Nonetheless, it is only in within the last decade or so that the expanding service sector has made a significant impact on the city and region in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) and this has corresponded with substantial employment growth in the financial and professional business services sector.’ (Brown et al. 2009a: 8)

14. Conclusions • Positive and negative impacts on West Midlands Economy • Status as multicultural hub promotes economic diversity • Migration important for local and regional economic performance

15. Questions? • Discussion