Reflections on migration, and the positive impact of refugees on host communities

The Irish people have long been explorers and voyagers. Every primary school child in Ireland knows the story of St. Brendan and how he was – by legend anyway – the first European to sail to the Americas.

This spirit of exploration and resilience has characterised our history in Ireland, persisting even in times of hardship - such as during the Great Famine of the mid-19th century, when over a million Irish people were driven to seek new lives across the world. Difficult times led to so many hard and perilous journeys across the Atlantic and beyond, where Irish people forged new communities and contributed to countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

This Irish experience of migration is not unique. We’ve always been a migratory species, dating back over 60,000 years with the first significant movement out of Africa, as early humans sought new opportunities, resources and climates. This outward expansion marked the beginning of humanity's spread across the globe. Ever since, countless waves of migration have been shaped by environmental shifts, population growth, and technological advancements.

However, migration has not been a one-way journey. Evidence from recent studies, including by López et al. (2015), shows that there was also a significant migration back into Africa from Europe and Asia around 3,000 years ago. This reverse migration contributed to a dynamic exchange of cultures, genes and technologies between populations. Human migration has always been a complex, multi-directional process rather than a simple outward expansion from a single point of origin.

The waves of migration we are witnessing today, driven by climate change, conflict, and deprivation, are not an aberration. Rather, these migration waves continue a fundamental human practice inherent to our species from its very beginnings. Just as early humans migrated out of Africa in search of more hospitable lands, and countless others followed in pursuit of safety, opportunity, or survival, today's movements reflect our enduring instinct to adapt and seek a better life and often, a brighter future for our children.

I’ve been reflecting on this a lot recently, in the context of so much overwhelmingly negative coverage in the media on migrants and migration.

We are writing another chapter in this age-old story of migration, with a number of global crises resulting in increasing numbers of migrants, refugees and people in need of humanitarian assistance and international protection.

As of May this year, there are 43.4 million refugees and people in need of international protection worldwide. The number of forcibly displaced people stands at 120 million globally. This is the 12th consecutive yearly increase. The reasons people are forced to flee are varied - climate is increasingly a factor here, as well as conflict, human rights violations and other disasters. (source)

 Positive impacts of migration

Looking at inward migration and the impact on some of the world’s biggest economies – there are so many positives, backed by facts and figures.

In the United States, immigrants made up 18% of the workforce in 2022. Immigrants and their children, from 2015-2035, are projected to add 18 million people of working age to the US workforce. These workers will play an important role in offsetting an otherwise anticipated decline in the working age population due to the retirement of baby boomers.

An analysis of the 2022 US census data found that immigrant households contributed $579.1 billion in taxes. That's nearly one in every six total tax dollars.  Immigrants are filling key roles within the US workforce, making up over a quarter of agricultural workers, one in four in the construction sector, and 23.1% of STEM workers. Immigrants also filled gaps within the healthcare industry amidst a national shortage. 

In Europe, and a study by Ortega-Gill et al in 2022, found that immigrants have a positive impact on GDP per capita. The study’s wide-ranging analysis of data from 27 EU countries over a range of 13 years (2008-2020), found that the effect of immigration on GDP in the EU is ‘positive and significant.’ Many non-EU citizens working in the EU too, are essential workers.

In the UK, Brexit has led to a shortfall of around 330,000 workers, across sectors such as transportation, manufacturing and construction. More than 13% of businesses surveyed by the UK’s Office for National Statistics were experiencing labour shortages. The impact here cuts across inflation, economic growth and public finances.

As some of the world’s biggest economies face challenges from shrinking workforces, ageing populations and increasing demands for care, immigration remains critical to economic output, stability and growth. There’s also the enrichment brought about by these cultural exchanges, leading to more vibrant, inclusive societies.

 Positive impacts for refugee host communities

The World Bank conducted a wide-ranging review - the first of its kind - of 49 studies estimating the impact of 17 major forced displacement crises on host communities, spanning all the way from 1922-2015. The paper ‘The Impact of Forced Displacement on Host Communities: A Review of the Empirical Literature in Economics’ by Paolo Verme and Kirsten Schuettler analysed 762 separate results from these studies. Their findings? The overall effect on household wellbeing in communities hosting refugees, is mainly positive. Very few studies found a negative impact on household well-being.

 Verme’s blog post provides an overview:

• Short-term, both the overall GDP and household incomes of a host community are expected to rise, because there are more people and more money in an area than previously.

• Medium-term, the incomes of local host community households are also projected to grow, because population growth leads to increases in government spending which drives consumption and in turn ocal production and sales of goods and services.

Are there negative impacts? Of course. As with just about every global crisis, it’s women, young people and low-income, vulnerable people who are most impacted. This highlights the importance of development and humanitarian efforts in working with and supporting both refugees and host communities.

 Providing sanctuary and protection: A reflection of our shared humanity

It’s not the world’s wealthiest countries who are doing the most when it comes to extending a welcome to people forced to flee their homes. People who are often extremely vulnerable. Far from it. 75% of the world’s refugees are hosted in low and middle income countries. Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in sub-Saharan Africa, and the sixth largest in the world.

Self Help Africa is working with refugees in Adjumani and Kiryandongo in Uganda. With the World Food Programme, we’re working with smallholder farmers in refugee and host communities - mainly women and girls - to increase food production and incomes. A pilot project is also enabling refugee farmers to sell their produce back to the WFP - supporting the procurement of food supplies for 1.3 million refugees in Uganda.

 My Self Help Africa colleague Peace Nakitto wrote more on this a few months ago, to coincide with World Refugees Day.

 At Self Help Africa, it is our core belief as an organisation - and mine, too - that providing sanctuary and protection to those fleeing crisis is not only a duty of state prescribed by international law; above all else it is fundamental to the preservation of our shared humanity.