Refugee Movements: Causes and Economic Impacts

Refugee Movements: Causes and Economic Impact

What is a humanitarian crisis?

Nowadays, there are many refugee movements caused by various humanitarian crises. A humanitarian crisis can be defined as a situation in which there is an exceptional and generalized threat to human life, health, or subsistence. These crises usually appear within the context of an existing lack of protection, where a series of pre-existing factors are exacerbated by a natural disaster or armed conflict and, as a consequence, the destructive effects are multiplied.

Types of emergencies

Humanitarian crises can be grouped into three categories:

• Natural disasters — geophysical, climatological, meteorological, or biological events.
• Man-made emergencies — armed conflicts, plane and train crashes, and other human-caused disasters.
• Complex emergencies — a combination of natural and man-made factors.

Major humanitarian crises in 2015

2015 was a year with several major humanitarian crises. The most important included:

• Syria refugee crisis
• Nepal earthquake
• Iraq displacement
• West Africa Ebola outbreak
• South Sudan conflict
• Somalia drought

Economic causes: Pull and Push factors

Besides humanitarian crises, economic causes also drive these migration movements, most often from developing countries. These economic causes can be divided into pull and push factors.

Pull factors

Pull factors are associated with the area of destination. They include:

• More and better jobs
• Higher wages
• Expectations of a better life due to welfare systems in developed countries

Push factors

Push factors are associated with the area of origin. The most common are national problems such as:

• Civil wars
• Terrorism
• Poverty

Economic impacts on host countries

The arrival of immigrants in a country has different economic impacts. The main effects are the following:

• Strain on local administration: The presence of a large refugee population in rural areas can place pressure on host country national and regional authorities, who must keep refugees alive, alleviate their sufferings, and ensure the security of the whole community.
• Economic stimulus: The presence of refugees can lead to development in host regions, as they provide a new workforce and produce an increase in demand for goods and services.
• Attraction of development agencies: Development agencies are often drawn to host areas and may build infrastructure to improve refugees' conditions.