Positive Economic Impacts
Refugees of any country can often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that give them asylum. Existing literature on this topic discusses multiple ways in which these positive impacts can occur; five of which are discussed below.
To start with, provisions created and carried out explicitly for refugees can often lead to broader utilization by the host countries population. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Uganda saw an influx of refugees from Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its education sector. In specific, schools that were built for the refugee children served local students — who otherwise might not have gone to school at all — as well. The presence of the …show more content…
Because the Syrian refugee crisis is so recent, data on the skill and education level of Syrian refugees is very scarce. Nonetheless, in regards to the Syrian refugees that have went to Europe, researchers have found that the proportion of the Syrian refugees with a higher education was comparable to the host population (21 percent versus 23 percent). Since the Syrian refugees are usually skilled and underemployed, they may — if given the opportunity — possess the capacity to boost their host nation’s economic output. As skilled and educated, Syrian refugees can also integrate more easily into the formal labor markets. Yet, there is a limiting factor of the transferability of qualifications that usually come with skilled occupations; licenses, certifications, and other credentials that were recognized by the refugees’ nation of origin may not be recognized by the host nation. Unfortunately this process can be a time-consuming and expensive one. In the United States, the result has been underemployment for roughly half of the skilled Syrian refugee population. With skilled workers not working in jobs that exploit there potential, possible positive economic impacts can be …show more content…
Eurostat estimates that 81 percent of refugees seeking asylum in the European Union in 2015 were younger than 35 and 55 percent were between the ages of 18 and 34. For Europe, these younger refugees could possibly help alleviate an increasing demographic crisis. Nations in Easter, Southern, and Central Europe are facing population shrinkage, lower fertility, and aging citizens. An example could be made from Germany’s current situation. Germany is expected to lose 20 million citizens and have a third of its population older than 65 by 2060. Aging populations threaten to weaken economic activity through a smaller labor force and the European Union countries only need to look to present-day Japan for evidence. For countries with these problems, Syrian refugees can be a significant opportunity for the host countries
Refugees of any country can often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that give them asylum. Existing literature on this topic discusses multiple ways in which these positive impacts can occur; five of which are discussed below.
To start with, provisions created and carried out explicitly for refugees can often lead to broader utilization by the host countries population. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Uganda saw an influx of refugees from Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its education sector. In specific, schools that were built for the refugee children served local students — who otherwise might not have gone to school at all — as well. The presence of the …show more content…
Because the Syrian refugee crisis is so recent, data on the skill and education level of Syrian refugees is very scarce. Nonetheless, in regards to the Syrian refugees that have went to Europe, researchers have found that the proportion of the Syrian refugees with a higher education was comparable to the host population (21 percent versus 23 percent). Since the Syrian refugees are usually skilled and underemployed, they may — if given the opportunity — possess the capacity to boost their host nation’s economic output. As skilled and educated, Syrian refugees can also integrate more easily into the formal labor markets. Yet, there is a limiting factor of the transferability of qualifications that usually come with skilled occupations; licenses, certifications, and other credentials that were recognized by the refugees’ nation of origin may not be recognized by the host nation. Unfortunately this process can be a time-consuming and expensive one. In the United States, the result has been underemployment for roughly half of the skilled Syrian refugee population. With skilled workers not working in jobs that exploit there potential, possible positive economic impacts can be …show more content…
Eurostat estimates that 81 percent of refugees seeking asylum in the European Union in 2015 were younger than 35 and 55 percent were between the ages of 18 and 34. For Europe, these younger refugees could possibly help alleviate an increasing demographic crisis. Nations in Easter, Southern, and Central Europe are facing population shrinkage, lower fertility, and aging citizens. An example could be made from Germany’s current situation. Germany is expected to lose 20 million citizens and have a third of its population older than 65 by 2060. Aging populations threaten to weaken economic activity through a smaller labor force and the European Union countries only need to look to present-day Japan for evidence. For countries with these problems, Syrian refugees can be a significant opportunity for the host countries