Schou’s (2006) results using a computable general equilibrium model for Denmark
are less positive, suggesting that general immigration would worsen fiscal sustainability,
while selective immigration could be only modestly beneficial. Fehr et al. (2004)
construct a three-region general equilibrium model of the US, Japan and the EU,
reaching the skeptical conclusion that expansion of general immigration makes
‘essentially no difference’ (Fehr et al., 2004, p. 297) to population aging problems,
© 2014 The Authors.
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F586 THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL [ NOVEMBER
whereas the scale of high-skilled immigration needed to make a meaningful impact
would be practically challenging to achieve.