Storesletten uses a calibrated general equilibrium overlapping generations model
for the US (Storesletten, 2000) and Sweden (Storesletten, 2003). The long-run fiscal
effect of immigration to the US depends on age, skills and employment rates of
migrants – it is positive for high skilled and negative for low-skilled migrants, though
never as negative as for a new-born native. Discounted gains are argued to be
potentially large, peaking with high-skilled immigrants aged between 40 and 44; the
fiscal problem associated with the aging baby boom is shown to be potentially resoluble
by admitting 1.6 m immigrants annually. There are smaller gains in Sweden with the
peak in immigrant fiscal gain coming at an earlier age; the average new immigrant is
fiscally costly but an immigration policy targeted on young high-skilled immigrants
could yield a ‘large net gain’ (Storesletten, 2003, p. 504).