Lecture 29: Refugees
Who/what defines refugees
Geneva Convention on Refugees
what are some examples of policies that countries implement that make them a "less attractive destination" for refugees?
limit asylum seekers' access to the labor or housing markets implementing a SUPER lengthy asylum application
unauthorized migration is ____ to labor market conditions compared to authorized migration
more responsive
Describe the categorization of displaced persons and refugee status
not all displaced persons are refugees, but ALL refugees are displaced persons
first asylum countries
often neighboring countries who host large inflows of displaced people
economic migrants
people who choose to move to a new country to improve their living standards
UNHCR defines displaced persons as
people who flee their homes and are classified as their "population of concern"
what is a possible consequence of a shock that causes refugees to flee a country being bad?
psychological shocks, change the way people behave. could be negative
who does cortes compare?
refugees and economic immigrants in the 1980 and 1990 US censuses Major refugee waves analyzed from Afghanistan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam vs Non-refugees from Mexico, Central America, Carribean, South America, northern Europe, Philippines, etc.
another key difference between refugees and economic migrants
refugees are typically unable or unwilling to return to their home countries (even for shorter visits; because who'd want to go back to syria rn amirite?)
what do refugees need to do in order to qualify for resettlement/refugee status?
register with the UNHCR then they're screened by the US state department and need to pass a security check before being accepted for resettlement scheme
Cortes paper
studies whether refugees "catch-up" faster with natives than economic immigrants in the US hypothesis is that refugees, given their longer expected time horizon in the US, will invest more in "assimilating" than economic immigrants
individuals granted asylum in the US
individuals present themselves at US ports of entry or claim asylum from within the country no annual cap on them
what is the core thing that makes refugees a significant/controversial international issue?
the costs of hosting refugees are borne by country providing asylum (countries free-ride on these people; public goods problem)
what has significant implications/consequences for the economic assimilation of refugees?
the refugee process and speed of host countries may be lengthy, and unpredictable which can have negative consequences
what is the implication of refugees being more unwilling to return to their home countries?***
they expect a longer time horizon in host country (provided they are granted permanent refugee status, which is not always the case) this is important because a lot of the stuff we learned about temporary migration applies here***
Pros and cons for host countries of displaced migrants
they have limited control over the size and type of displaced migrants they receive BUT they can decide to grant full refugee status or temporary asylum AND they have control over over how fast to process them
how do immigrants go from displacement status to refugee status?***
they undergo resettlement schemes that transfer refugees from one host country to another that has agreed to admit them (voluntary participation) but first, they must be in a country that has a formal system of refugee status recognition once there, they have the right to apply for asylum and reside in the host country until a decision is made then the outcome is one of three, with full refugee status being one of them
UNHCR
united nations high comissioner on refugees
which country has historically been the largest destination for resettled refugees?
united states
what is the difference between being granted asylum and refugee status?***
...
she focuses on the cohorts of immigrants who enter the US in 1975-1980 why is this problematic?***
?
What is the advantage of resettlement schemes??****
????
Refugees
individuals who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country"
how do policies that make countries less attractive make the situation worse?
it can increase a destination country's cost of refugee hosting by hindering the economic assimilation of refugees if you limit their access to occupations and housing --> you need to provide them food and housing
what is US policy with respect to refugees?
Refugee Act of 1980 (formalized US admission system for refugees) Refugees ABROAD need to register with the UNHCR in order to quality as a refugee/for resettlement scheme into the US
refugee act of 1980
US refugee policy that formalized the US admission system for refugees placed an annual cap on number of refugees admitted under this scheme (85,000 in 2016, 50,000 in 2017??) no annual cap on the number of individuals who are granted asylum (individuals who present themselves at US ports of entry or claim asylum from within the country)
how can long asylum claims lead to negative consequences for refugees?***
leads to uncertainty about duration: lack of incentives to accumulate human capital specific to the host country (so if they do get accepted, then they basically just wasted their time not learning the language, they could've maximized their income had they knew they when exactly they would get in)??? if delay is long enough, and permanent residence is only achieved after many years: this reduces the time horizon over which refugees can receive pay-offs from investments (staying in camps?? human capital?) NEED TO RELISTEN***
refugees are ultimately ___ than economic immigrants
less selected
free rider perspective
all countries should take care of refugees, but only costs get borne by the receiving country and not the international community
census does not...
ask immigrants whether they are refugees: information inferred based on country of origin and year of immigration to the US
some countries argue, in regard to the ambiguousness of the GRC definition of refugees, that
civilians fleeing conflicts should not be granted full refugee status
why is free riding a problem wrt refugees?
countries might react by enacting policies that make themselves a "less attractive destination" they have an INCENTIVE to make themselves unappealing to refugees
more specific look at the process of going from displacement to refugee status
displacement by violence, conflict, war, natural disaster, etc. then: 1) internal displacement 2) move to a neighboring country ("first asylum country") 3) move to a "final destination country" if 1, jack shit happens (no international protection) If 2, you can obtain refugee status recognition from UNHCR then resettled to a "final destination" country OR, you could remain there with some "refugee-like" status (hosted in refugee camps) if 3, apply for asylum then either be rejected or get some temporary protection or ideally full recognition
how do receiving countries view refugees vs economic immigrants? and what is the implication?
economic migrants are chosen based on economic considerations (labor market shortages --> seasonal worker visas) and can set clear migration terms, such as stay duration (limit time they can stay) vs refugees, where countries that are GCR signatories, decide to grant official refugee status based on humanitarian (not economic) considerations thus: countries have little influence on the type of refugees they host (cant choose to select only the skilled ones, or the ones that only know english), and therefore are LESS selected than economic migrants
How are refugees different than economic immigrants?
economic migrants choose whether or not to migrate, but also which country to migrate to given the economic benefits of this decision refugee migrants, in contrast, are forced to leave their origin countries, often due to sudden events that put their lives at risk refugee migration decisions neither planned or deliberate, less based on economic considerations their arrival in a host country is often after dangerous and unpredictable journey
why do displaced people often remain in refugee camps for years without being granted refugee status?
first asylum countries (neighboring countries) are often developing countries with no formal system to assess asylum applications displaced people in refugee camps are thus often subsidized by UNHCR, NGO's and international aid and can remain in that situation for years
internal displacement
fleeing your home but still remaining in your home country (no international protection)
three outcomes of applying for asylum
full refugee status an offer of some form of temporary humanitarian protection or rejection
in general, displaced persons in neighboring countries are....
hosted in refugee camps but do not usually have recognized refugee status they are defined as being in a "refugee-like" situation
(what is the problem with the GRC definition of refugees) CCR does not stipulate...
how countries should determine if individual meets criteria for refugee status: each country uses its own procedures, many lack formal system
why is being granted permanent residence over a long delay a problem? (intuition)
if your 55, you basically just wasted your time learning english since you're basically going to retire and cant get all the returns you could have gotten
what is the idea behind cortes hypothesis?
immigrant groups that expect to stay a longer time horizon will invest more in human capital specific to the host country
the number of refugees/displaced persons around the world are ____ as a share of the world's population
increasing
what is the ambiguous part of the GRC definition of refugees? and why?
individual persecution (the concept of) does not address the issue of civilians fleeing conflicts
