The emigration of workers

Journalist Dace Akule asks whether Latvians who have left the country to work in Great Britain, Ireland or Sweden are causing damage to Latvia or helping it. "In Ireland, Latvians earn a lot more than at home and can send the money home to their families and accumulate savings which in most cases end up in Latvia. But in the long term and from an economic point of view, the Latvian state is missing out on tax revenues. Moreover, the great majority of emigrants have a higher level of education... This is why Latvia's ecomomic and demographic situation is particularly bad in comparison with other EU countries... So the time has come to think about how Latvians can be persuaded to remain at home."

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