SUMMARY

A relevant question within the growing debate on immigration policy concerns the impact of granting immigrants free access to the welfare system. I analyse the case of the European 2004 Accession (A8) countries and the lift of the temporary limitations to benefit eligibility that citizens from these countries faced until April 2011 in the UK. When the restrictions are relaxed A8 immigrants claim more benefits, but labour supply adjustments occur mainly for those who are more in need for assistance, namely women and the less educated, especially in the presence of children. Moreover, I provide evidence on two potential indirect effects. First, my results support the absence of magnet effects, as arrivals do not change from before to after the change in eligibility rules. Second, I show that granting immigrants access to welfare does not change the composition of the incoming flows.

中文翻译：

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消除福利障碍：我们从英国的A8移民中学到什么？

概要

在关于移民政策的日益激烈的辩论中，一个相关的问题涉及给予移民自由进入福利系统的影响。我分析了欧洲2004年加入（A8）国家的情况以及暂时限制的取消，以使这些国家的公民在2011年4月之前在英国面临的资格提高。放宽限制之后，A8移民要求更多的福利，但是劳动力供应的调整主要是针对那些需要更多帮助的人，即妇女和教育程度较低的人，尤其是在有儿童的情况下。此外，我提供了两个潜在间接影响的证据。首先，我的结果支持没有磁效应，因为到达时间从资格规则更改之前到更改之后都没有改变。第二，