Foreign workers in Spain are more likely to earn less or be unemployed than Spaniards. Students who come from another country are also more likely to drop out or be bullied in class. And this discrimination, in addition to being unfair and marking the lives of those who suffer it, also negatively affects the entire economy of the State, causing it to lose almost 17 billion euros, according to a new report of the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia. , commissioned by the Ministry of Migration, which elDiario.es has accessed.
The study, prepared by professors from the Autonomous University of Madrid, reveals the extent of discrimination in work and education between the indigenous population and the foreign population residing in Spain, also analyzing how this inequality affects the state’s economy. According to their calculations, the economic impact amounts to around 17 billion euros, which represents 1.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The results are known shortly before the upcoming approval of a new regulation of the Immigration Act, with which the Ministry of Migration intends to ease foreign citizens’ access to residence and work permits.
“We are talking about a gross loss of resources of enormous magnitude, equivalent, for example, to a good part of the total personnel expenditure of the general state budgets in 2022 or to approximately more than half of the collection of corporate tax that in the same year (32 million euros),” warn the authors, Ramón Mahía Casado and Eva Medina Moral. According to their analysis, the economic effect is mainly explained by the salary remuneration that the discriminated foreign population no longer receives, neither at work nor in education – with the consequent effect on their future income.
At work, research reveals that foreign residents are 5% more likely to be unemployed than natives due to discrimination. In this case, the report estimates its impact on the economy at around 5.1 billion euros, or around 0.38% of GDP.
Spain also wastes foreign talent more frequently than Spaniards. The study highlights that immigrant employees are 15% more likely than natives to occupy a position below their qualifications. “The analysis reveals that the moderate overqualification differences for foreign workers with higher education, which could possibly be due to discrimination, are 15%,” the paper states.
This discrimination, which forces thousands of immigrants to work in low-skilled jobs, is estimated at nearly 2.8 billion euros, which represents 0.21% of GDP.
Inequalities also impact the wages of the foreign population, particularly those of immigrant women. The wage gap between the foreign population and the native population, due to factors of discrimination, reaches 2.2% of the average salary of the two groups, according to the report.. Individually, the difference may seem anecdotal, since foreign citizens receive on average 48 euros per month, according to the study. However, the reduction at the macroeconomic level goes much further, reaching 2.2 billion euros per year, which is equivalent to 0.17% of GDP, according to the study.
“Wage gaps are very large and wage discrimination seems obvious and very significant,” the authors conclude.
Discrimination also affects the foreign population in the educational field. Researchers perceive a “marked inequality” in access to education, as well as in the school dropout rate. “The foreign population faces a lower enrollment rate and a greater probability of dropping out of school due to their origin,” the document concludes.
The discrimination suffered by foreign students begins in access to school, where the study identifies 17% more schooling among native students than among immigrants, valued at 3.398 million euros, 0.25% of GDP.
After access to school, discrimination does not stop. The analysis indicates that “stress processes associated with migration processes” and “higher rates of harassment” detected among immigrant students ultimately translate into higher levels of dropout among foreign students, who reach a economic cost of 102 million euros, according to their calculations.
The greatest economic impact linked to educational discrimination is found in the inequality of access to university between foreign and native students after completing their secondary studies, estimated at 3,889 million euros, or 80% of the total cost identified in the field of studies. The research also highlights the discrimination observed when moving from the first cycle of ESO to the second cycle of vocationally oriented secondary education (17% less among students from another country).
One of the rare areas where the dropout rate among the foreign population is lower than that of the Spanish population is that of professional training cycles. However, the authors qualify the observation: “Given that it is calculated according to expectations, the result could be explained by a better academic result compared to indigenous students who carry out the same studies, which could indicate an overpresence of foreign students in vocational training. cycles that could also have successfully completed other types of studies,” they warn.
Government measures
Given the discrimination rates indicated by the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), the Ministry of Migration – to which OBERAXE depends – claims to be working on a series of measures aimed at filling gaps such as those documented in the report with the objective of “promoting social cohesion and the integration of people who arrive in our country”.
Among the measures that the ministry says will serve to reduce discrimination is the reform of immigration law regulations, which aims to facilitate access to residence and work permits for migrant citizens. The department headed by Elma Saiz intends to make the regulatory change in the Council of Ministers this Tuesday, as the minister confirmed in a recent interview with elDiario.es. Its approval could, however, be postponed to the next Council for reasons linked to the effects of DANA.
“Thirteen years have passed since such an ambitious comprehensive reform of immigration law regulations was considered. This reform adapts to the current context of immigration, where it is imperative to promote the full integration of foreigners in our country, guaranteeing them the same rights and obligations as native citizens”, defend ministerial sources.
The report also constitutes “a first approach” to the situation of discrimination in Spain, with the aim of promoting the National Plan for Integration and Intercultural Coexistence, announced by Pedro Sánchez a month ago at the Congress of Deputies, which aims to “have resources and measures to promote the integration of foreigners into society, seeking formulas that, in addition to contributing to the work and social inclusion of migrants, avoid the errors and situations of the past”, detail -they of Migrations.
