Benchmark

Germany's $7 Billion Refugee Boost to Outweigh VW Scandal Fallout

Survey estimates $1 billion VW-related economic cost
Photographer: Lukas Barth/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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As she celebrates her 10-year anniversary in office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces two crises. While the political fallout still is uncertain, in economic terms the positive impetus from European refugee influx is due to more than offset the negative effect of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal.

The expected absorption of some 800,000 asylum seekers into Germany, many fleeing the violence in Syria, will add 0.2 percentage point to annual growth next year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 24 economists, conducted Nov. 6-13.