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Article: Hidden costs and strains for Poland.(CASE STUDY: Polish Migrants to Britain: Pros and Cons)(Viewpoint essay)
- Article from:
- European Affairs
- Article date:
- September 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The European Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In our era of globalization and free-market dogmatism, emigration is widely deemed a creative force. Labor flows between countries re-equilibrate labor markets in ever-broadening integrated economies such as the European Union.
Poland is a case in point. Since it joined the EU in 2004, up to two million Poles have left the country for jobs in Western Europe. This migration has alleviated Poland's high unemployment, helping to cut the rate from 18 percent to around 15 percent. It has also filled gaps in the recipient nations' labor markets. And the billions of zlotys transferred to Poland by its emigre "guest workers" undoubtedly bolster the Polish economy--in the ...