Fact Check: Is there zero economic benefit from high immigration?

Theresa May, Home Secretary (Interior Minister), speaking at the (UK) Conservative Party Conference on 6 October 6 stated that 'The evidence – from the OECD, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee and many academics – shows that while there are benefits of selective and controlled immigration, at best the net economic and fiscal effect of high immigration is close to zero. So there is no case, in the national interest, for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last decade'.

The article discusses this assertion from an academic perspective.

• Primary Source

The Guardian, 06.10.15: [Editorial]: The Guardian view on Theresa May’s speech: back to the nasty party http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/06/guardian-view-on-theresa-may-conservative-party-conference-speech-nasty-party

The Telegraph, 06.10.15: Theresa May's 'chilling and bitter' measures to send illegal migrants home http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11913723/david-cameron-conservative-conference-2015-live.html

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