Research note: Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Tests Luxembourg’s Humanitarian and Integration Policy

Diverse speeches and writings (2022)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions have contributed to accelerating the rise in commodity prices (including energy), triggering inflation, and exacerbating instability in an already ... [more ▼]

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions have contributed to accelerating the rise in commodity prices (including energy), triggering inflation, and exacerbating instability in an already convalescent Europe. The war has also sparked a massive refugee crisis, the most impressive in speed and size since World War II, whose economic impact is likely to be significant. As of mid-May, the stock of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country due to the Russian invasion slightly exceeded 6 million, and some 8 million more were displaced internally.1 This refugee crisis imposes huge stress on the humanitarian protection regime and reception capacity of most European countries. This is not only the case in frontline countries such as Poland (3.3 million), Romania (0.9 million), Hungary (0.6 million) or Moldova (0.5 million), but also in other EU member states where the numbers of arrivals has almost reached (and sometimes exceeds) the levels of the 2015-16 refugee crisis in two months only. As of early May, the stocks have risen to 610 thousand in Germany, 70 thousand in France, 40 thousand in Belgium and 5 thousand in Luxembourg. These numbers are likely to grow in the coming weeks, as the war is far from over. [less ▲]

Do Potential Migrants Internalise Migrant Rights in OECD Host Societies?

in Canadian Journal of Economics (2020), 53(4), 1429-1456

This paper analyses how countries’ provision of migrant rights affects potential mi- grants’ destination choice. Combining data on bilateral migration desires from over 140 origin countries and data on ... [more ▼]

This paper analyses how countries’ provision of migrant rights affects potential mi- grants’ destination choice. Combining data on bilateral migration desires from over 140 origin countries and data on migrant rights in 38 mainly OECD destination countries over the period 2007-2014, we find that potential migrants tend to favor destinations that are more open to the inclusion of immigrants into their society. In particular, better access to and conditions on the labour market, as well as access to national- ity and to permanent residency significantly increase the perceived attractiveness of a destination country. These results are robust across different specifications and hold for subsamples of origin countries as well as of destinations. Moreover, some results vary across types of respondents. Educational opportunities for migrants, for instance, affect the migration desires of individuals aged 15 to 24 years, but less so of individuals in other age groups. [less ▲]