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Proponents of high levels of immigration typically argue that it lifts productivity and living standards because migrants tend to be better educated and more highly skilled than the average Australian.
They generally cite spurious modelling to support their claims, ignoring the actual empirical evidence showing that Australia’s labour productivity and per capita GDP growth slowed dramatically after net overseas migration (NOM) more than doubled since the mid-2000s.
Consider the following chart from Alex Joiner, chief economist at IFM Investors, showing the trend decline in per capita GDP growth from 2005, after NOM surged:
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.