Improving well-being through migration

New Zealand’s immigration system aims to enhance well-being by promoting economic development, reuniting families and meeting humanitarian objectives. Immigration is high and residence admissions are focused on the high skilled to enhance economic outcomes. Empirical evidence suggests that immigration has had small positive effects on per capita incomes and has not adversely affected the wage or employment outcomes of the average NZ-born worker. However, temporary migration has had small negative impacts on new hires of some groups of people, notably social welfare beneficiaries not in the (16) most urbanised areas. Immigrants have high well-being outcomes on average but suffer an initial shortfall in employment and wages relative to the comparable NZ-born. New Zealand has refined the migration system over the years to attract those who are more likely to ease labour shortages and, should they apply for residence, have better earnings prospects. It has also deployed settlement and integration programmes to improve labour market and other outcomes that affect well-being. This chapter looks at further adjustments to the system to enhance its well-being benefits for both the NZ-born and immigrants.