S.Africa's business confidence dips to a 22-year low
The massive arrival of migrants in the European Union will burden member states' budgets in the short term but ultimately fuel economic growth, the IMF's chief economist said Tuesday.
The arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants in the EU, many fleeing the civil war in Syria, has unleashed a crisis for the bloc, but in the long term it will help its economies by expanding the labor force, said Maurice Obstfeld, the International Monetary Fund's new economic research director.
According to the United Nations, some 700,000 migrants and refugees will make the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean to Europe this year, with a similar number expected again next year.
The influx has caused conflict among the EU's 28 members and led to a partial breakdown in their open-border system as member states struggle to cope.
But welcoming migrants will ultimately benefit the EU's economies, he added.
He emphasized that the Middle East has borne the brunt of the migrant crisis -- more than four million Syrians have taken refuge in neighboring countries.
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