5.3 International Migration

Question 1

Pattern of refugee flow from Ukraine

Answer 1

• majority of migrants have moved relatively short distances to neigh borough in countries - Poland + Russia have the highest level of Ukrainian migrants
• This is evidence of Zipf’s law through a distance-decay pattern

Question 2

Cause of migration from Ukraine

Answer 2

Russian + Ukraine conflict

Question 3

Distance of Ukraine migration

Answer 3

mainly to west European countries

Question 4

Duration of Ukraine migration

Answer 4

• originally intended to be temporary
• now there is uncertainty of when the war will end
• people have become accustomed to living in their destination country

Question 5

Volume of Ukraine migration

Answer 5

• displacement of 8.2 million
• UK received 205,600
• Poland 1.6 mil
• Germany 940k

Question 6

Structure of Ukraine migration

Answer 6

• 90% of refugees are women + children
• there is a ban on physically fit 18-60 year old men leaving

Question 7

Is there a counter stream for the Ukraine migration?

Answer 7

• refugees have been making short term visits back to Ukraine - visit family, collect important documents + check their properties
• difficulties of finding a job + suitable housing in host country, cancellation of financial support = more Ukrainians returning

Question 8

Economic impacts on source area (Ukraine)

Answer 8

• loss of educated + skilled adults (brain drain) = decrease in productivity of labour force
• decreased revenue from income tax
• refugees spending savings in host countries, benefiting their economies + less benefits for Ukrainian businesses
• over time, Ukrainians gain more employment abroad = able to send back remittances = $16.3B sent back to Ukraine

Question 9

Social impacts on source area (Ukraine)

Answer 9

• large proportion of women refugees (gender imbalance) + deaths of adult males in conflict = will lead to lower BR + slower pop. growth in future
• potential shortage in key social service provision in future due to loss of many young skilled workers

Question 10

Overall socioeconomic impact on Ukraine

Answer 10

• significant economic + social impact in the long term due to majority having negative consequences
• reduced skilled workers, general spending + future reduction in economic growth
• although lots of remittances are being sent, this is unlikely to completely cushion the blow

Question 11

Economic impacts of migration on destination (destination)

Answer 11

• increased costs for receiving countries to provide refugees with basic services + housing, food, healthcare, education etc.
• OECD suggest Poland has spent €8.36B on supporting Ukrainian refugees - mainly through accommodation + food costs
• 2022 large pop. were children = strain on education services with more funding needed for support
• low proportion of economically active male migrants so less economic contribution from labour + income tax from migrants

Question 12

Social impacts of migration (destination)

Answer 12

• refugees may suffere from psychological distress from traumatic experiences due to conflict = make integration into new community challenging, especially for children - more funding for support needed
• increase number of migration streams in Europe = creates tension amongst local communities in receiving countries (2022 121 attacks on Ukrainian refugee centres in Germany)

Question 13

Overall socioeconomic impacts on destination

Answer 13

• there has been significant costs to provide for Ukrainian migrants - but it has not all been negative
• there is a possibility that the receiving countries will receive benefits if they become permanent + contribute to workforce
• especially in countries such as Germany + UK with an ageing population, relieving the pension burden

Question 14

UK support for Ukrainian refugees

Answer 14

• hosting 205,800 Ukrainian refugees
• home for Ukraine Scheme - applicants will be able to live, work + study in UK for up to three years + have access to housing benefits, pension credit, disability allowance, job seekers allowance etc.
• evidence of chain migration - many move to join family member in UK, especially those on the Ukraine Family Scheme
• 1800 refugees settled across Devon with host families through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme
• Devon has welcomed 530 children + provided over 700 hours of bilingual support for these children in the classroom or online

Question 15

Volume of refugee flow from Syria

Answer 15

• Lebanon is hosting more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees

Question 16

Cause of Syrian refugee flow?

Answer 16

escaping civil war in Syria

Question 17

Structure of refugee flow (Syria)

Answer 17

75% of migrants are women + children

Question 18

Support for Syrian refugees

Answer 18

• no formal migration camp in Lebanon
• refugees have to pay for rent, food, clothes + medicine
• they also don’t have the legal right to work
• EU provided 500m in humanitarian aid but it was insufficient

Question 19

Environment of Lebanon to Syrian refugees?

Answer 19

• initially welcoming but tensions grew due to increased competition for jobs + resources
• 2015 = tightened migration policies - all Syrian refugees had to justify the purpose of their visit

Question 20

Compare wealth of destination areas?

Answer 20

• UK = HIC, GDP of 45125
• Lebanon = MIC, but low economic stability (GDP/capita fell by 3.6%) + 74% of population living off $14 a day = high poverty