Prof. Panu Poutvaara Ph.D.

Recruiting more volunteers in Germany through higher wages would be more cost-effective than returning to conscription, according to an ifo Institute calculation. “Although the German Armed Forces could cover its staffing needs with new conscripts, it would be more cost-effective to make military service more attractive by increasing salaries,” says ifo researcher Panu Poutvaara. 

The US Democratic electorate prefers female candidates in elections, according to a survey experiment conducted by the ifo Institute. “In a survey experiment back in 2020, female supporters of the Democratic Party were already three times more likely to vote for a woman, compared to a man,” says Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for Migration Research and Development Economics. Among Republican Party supporters, on the other hand, the gender of the candidate plays almost no role. 

Almost 25 percent of Ukrainian refugees in Europe plan to settle outside Ukraine in the long term, as shown by an ifo Institute survey of Ukrainian refugees from June 2024. 

ifo researcher Panu Poutvaara has spoken out in favor of speeding up asylum procedures in Germany. “The traffic light coalition’s aim in this regard is to be welcomed,” he said in Munich on Wednesday. “Anyone who qualifies for asylum should receive a decision as quickly as possible. Equally, unfounded asylum applications should also be rejected very quickly. That could save money.”

The ifo researcher Panu Poutvaara has called for a relaxation of the German ban on refugees’ working. “Given the labor shortage and the tight public finance situation, it makes sense to get refugees with good prospects of staying in the country integrated into the labor market as early as possible. Then they will be paying taxes and social security contributions.”

The level of unemployment in a region and the willingness of its population to accept refugees have a significant impact on the success of the integration process in Germany. This is according to an analysis in the latest ifo Schnelldienst. “Low unemployment in a district makes it easier for migrants to take up jobs there and thus to integrate,” writes Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research.

The next German federal government should improve the conditions for the immigration of skilled workers from abroad. This is the proposal that Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for Migration Research puts forward in an article for ifo Schnelldienst. “Above all, the incoming government should expand employment opportunities for immigrants with a visa for jobseekers while they seek work in their field. It should also improve the visa process and the system for scheduling appointments for foreign professionals,” Poutvaara says.

The more the pandemic was publicly discussed, the faster politicians responded with measures. These are the conclusions of a study by the CESifo research network. The differences in response time are considerable: Switzerland introduced measures against the virus fastest, three days after the first cases of Covid-19 were reported. In Ireland, the delay was eight days, in South Korea 11 days. Among the slowest countries to respond were the US (34 days), Belgium (35 days), and the UK (45 days). 

The ifo Institute welcomes the new Immigration of Skilled Workers Act. “In view of its aging population, Germany will face an increasing shortage of skilled workers in the coming years. The new law helps to attract more skilled workers and make Germany more attractive for immigrants,” says Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research.

L'Institut ifo se félicite des résultats du sommet politique consacré par le gouvernement allemand au manque de travailleurs qualifiés. Les participants du sommet ont confirmé, entre autres, leur volonté d'accélérer les procédures de visa et de reconnaissance nécessaires à l'immigration de travailleurs qualifiés étrangers. « C'est le bon signal pour augmenter les effectifs dans les ambassades », estime Panu Poutvaara, directeur du Centre ifo de comparaison internationale des institutions et de recherche sur les migrations.

The ifo Institute welcomes the results of the German government’s summit on the shortage of skilled workers. Among other things, the participants committed themselves to speeding up visa and recognition procedures for foreign workers. “This sends the right signal that embassies need to employ more staff to work in this area,” says Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research.

La vente de visas de travail temporaires pourrait aider les migrants économiques peu qualifiés à accéder légalement et en toute sécurité à l'Europe, sans saper son système de protection sociale. Cette proposition a été élaborée par Panu Poutvaara, le directeur du Centre ifo de comparaison internationale des institutions et de recherche sur les migrations. « Ces visas sont destinés à sauver des vies et faire voler en éclats le modèle économique des passeurs criminels sévissant dans les pays d'origine des migrants. Les excédents des recettes tirées de la vente des visas de travail temporaires pourraient servir à financer des mesures de soutien à ces mêmes pays », précise-t-il.

The sale of temporary work visas could provide low-skilled economic migrants with a legal and secure route to Europe without undermining the welfare system. Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research, has worked up this proposal. “The idea behind these visas is to save lives and smash the business model of human trafficking in migrants’ countries of origin. Any excess income from the sale of temporary work visas could go towards supporting those countries,” he says.

In 2015 and 2016, conflict and persecution pushed significantly higher numbers of people to flee to Europe than economic reasons or natural disasters did. This is the result of a study conducted by the ifo Institute that, for the first time, comprehensively analyzes survey data of refugees and irregular migrants who came to Europe in 2015 and 2016. A whopping 77 percent of respondents cite conflicts or persecution in their home country as their main reason for leaving, 21 percent economic reasons, and 2 percent natural disasters or other reasons. 

The Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) has appointed Prof. Panu Poutvaara as a new member. Poutvaara is Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research and Professor of Economics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich.

Immigration increases support for far-right political candidates and reduces support for far-left candidates, with areas with low-educated non-European immigrants providing the biggest boost to the far-right. These are the conclusions of a paper released by EconPol Europe.

Comme l’indiquent les résultats d’une étude publiée par le réseau EconPol Europe, l’immigration favoriserait le soutien aux candidats d’extrême-droite et réduirait le soutien aux candidats d’extrême-gauche, les zones habitées par des immigrants non européens à faible niveau scolaire donnant la plus grande impulsion à l’extrême-droite.