NSmolenskiFan on Nostr: Important research paper on the economics of migration. The consensus narrative today ...
Important research paper on the economics of migration. The consensus narrative today is that most migrants are the poorest of the poor—people with no economic hope in their home countries.
The reality is more complicated. Many migrants are relatively poor, yes, but they are also people with the *means* to migrate.
Simply put: migration is expensive. The poorest of the poor often stay in their home countries simply because they can’t afford to move.
That said, greater desperation at home—war, violence, natural disasters—change the economic calculus. Under those conditions, it may be more expensive to stay than to go. People whose lives are at risk—i.e. refugees—routinely endure extraordinary hardship to escape what seems to be highly probable death. At the end of the day, people value their lives over material possessions.
The reality is more complicated. Many migrants are relatively poor, yes, but they are also people with the *means* to migrate.
Simply put: migration is expensive. The poorest of the poor often stay in their home countries simply because they can’t afford to move.
That said, greater desperation at home—war, violence, natural disasters—change the economic calculus. Under those conditions, it may be more expensive to stay than to go. People whose lives are at risk—i.e. refugees—routinely endure extraordinary hardship to escape what seems to be highly probable death. At the end of the day, people value their lives over material possessions.