Forcibly displaced people in Latin America and the Caribbean can contribute significantly to the economies where they live if they have the opportunity, reveal two new studies published this Monday by several international organizations, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Refugees and migrants fill important gaps in labor markets and drive demand for goods and services, which can increase tax revenues and raise the Gross Domestic Product of recipient countries. However, they often find themselves in vulnerable situations, the agency noted.
Although the majority of this population is of working age, highly educated and employed, they are often overqualified for their jobs and engage in informal activities, which limits their wages and exacerbates their ability to obtain food.
In this context, the documents focus on how Specific policies can facilitate access to formal labor markets and basic servicessuch as education and health, so that refugees and migrants can better contribute to their host countries.
Lack of academic approval
Prepared by the world Bank and UNHCR, Venezuelans in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – A development opportunity points out that “the Venezuelan exodus seems to have had a positive effect on the economic growth of the region, thanks to the additional supply of labor and boosting demand“.
The report presents a detailed socioeconomic profile of Venezuelans in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and uses data from national household surveys in order to compare the profiles of Venezuelans with those local to each host country to contribute to public debate. .
According to the report, in all countries, Venezuelans have a higher educational level and, with the exception of Colombia, are more likely to find employment than the local population. On average, Venezuelans have completed secondary education (at least 12 years of education), that is, two years more, on average, than the local population. Thus, the proportion of Venezuelans with higher education is 65% in Chile and is close to 50% in Ecuador.
The document also details that There is demand for Venezuelan labor in local labor markets: in Ecuador, Peru and Chile, more than 80% are employed (in Colombia, about 63%).
However, they often perform lower-skilled jobs than those they had in Venezuela, and the authors estimate that this is because their academic degrees are not recognized in the receiving countries.
“The contribution of Venezuelans to the economy could be greater if the skills and qualifications in destination countries could be fully utilized,” the study notes.
A family of Venezuelan refugees lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Integration process
For its part, Socioeconomic integration of forcibly displaced populations in Latin America and the Caribbean analyzes this sector of the population in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, and reveals that forcibly displaced young people have more difficulties than their counterparts born in the country to continue studying and find work.
Produced by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UNHCR, the document states that Displaced children attend school less and drop out more often than national ones, which has an impact on generational integration. Furthermore, employment rates for women are lower than those for men, both native and displaced.
Xenophobia and discrimination
Studies also highlight how xenophobia and discrimination can negatively impact the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees and migrants and undermine their ability to participate in host communities.
The first report revealed that the majority of Venezuelans wanted to remain in their host country. However, their participation in the community was mainly limited to religious activity, despite sharing language and cultural ties. In the four host countries, between 26% and 40% of Venezuelans reported cases of discriminationespecially women and young people.
The study recommends that authorities create policies that promote social cohesion, avoid exclusion and minimize adverse effects on local populations.
Furthermore, UNHCR highlighted that more systematic inclusion of refugees and migrants in official data collection exercises is essential to effectively inform and improve public policies.
Estimates
According to UNHCR, these publications represent a fundamental step to promote solutions and guarantee the full socioeconomic inclusion of this population in host countries.
The agency estimates there were 22.1 million displaced people in the Americas as of mid-2023. Latin America and the Caribbean alone accounted for about a third of all new individual asylum claims globally.
The flow of displaced people in the American continent has increased as violence, insecurity, inequality and human rights violations persist.
In the economic sphere, studies estimate that GDP growth among the largest recipient countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will average between 0.10 and 0.25 percentage points per year between 2017 and 2030.
