Published as “Francesco Fasani: “Immigrant key workers in Europe: The COVID-19 response that comes from abroad”, in Bénassy-Quéré A. and Weder di Mauro B. (edited by): “Europe in the Time of Covid-19”, CEPR VoxEU e-book, 22 May 2020”.
Abstract:
‘Key workers’ are performing these crucial tasks on the front line of Europe’s COVID-19 response. This column describes how migrant workers are playing a critical role in performing basic functions in EU societies hit by the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, low-educated migrants, not just high-skilled ones, are employed in occupations that are key for their host societies, which suggests the need to reconsider, once the crisis has passed, a migration policy debate which is currently almost entirely focused on the importance of attracting high-skilled migrants to the EU.
