Not just the economy, society as well. EU freedom of movement has been great for big companies here having access to abundant cheap labour and forcing wages down for people at the bottom and making it more difficult to find work. I’d rather take an economic hit if it meant more ordinary British workers could earn more money. Wages in the UK construction industry have risen nearly 10% since Brexit since fewer Eastern Europeans are coming in willing to work for less.
Well you also get a nationwide version of “White Flight” where productive people leave a country, only leaving the parasites behind.
Moldova is a perfect example of this.