The Political Economy of Refugee Migration

Czaika Mathias ()
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Czaika Mathias: Department for International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg, Platz der Alten Synagoge 1, 79085 Freiburg, Germany

Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), 2009, vol. 229, issue 6, 803-824

Abstract: This article examines the driving forces of the magnitude, composition and duration of refugee movements caused by conflict and persecution. The decision to seek temporary or permanent refuge in the region of origin or in a more distant asylum destination is based on inter-temporal optimization. We find that asylum seeking in Western countries is rather a phenomenon of comparatively less persecuted people. In an attempt to reduce their respective asylum burdens, Western countries and host countries in the region of origin are likely to end up in a race to the bottom of restrictive asylum policies. Alternatively, this study shows that, under certain circumstances, proactive refugee-related aid transfers are an effective instrument to relieve Western countries from asylum pressure.

Keywords: Refugee movements; asylum policy; foreign aid; Refugee movements; asylum policy; foreign aid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:229:y:2009:i:6:p:803-821

DOI: 10.1515/jbnst-2009-0609

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