Regional Spillovers from the Venezuelan Crisis: Migration Flows and Their Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean

By Jorge A Alvarez, Marco Arena, Alain Brousseau, Hamid Faruqee, Emilio William Fernandez Corugedo, Jaime Guajardo, Gerardo Peraza, Juan Yepez

December 5, 2022

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Jorge A Alvarez, Marco Arena, Alain Brousseau, Hamid Faruqee, Emilio William Fernandez Corugedo, Jaime Guajardo, Gerardo Peraza, and Juan Yepez. Regional Spillovers from the Venezuelan Crisis: Migration Flows and Their Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2022) accessed April 30, 2025

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

As a new migration crisis is unfolding in Europe because of the war in Ukraine, the purpose of this paper is to also highlight the ongoing migration crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) due to Venezuela’s economic collapse. The stock of Venezuelan migrants reached 5 million in 2019, most of which had settled in other LAC countries. Following a temporary halt during the pandemic, migration from Venezuela has resumed, with the stock of migrants reaching 6.1 million in 2021. These migration flows are expected to continue in the coming years, which can strain public services and labor markets in the recipient economies in LAC. This Departmental Paper focuses on migration spillovers from the Venezuelan economic and social crisis. It sheds light on how migration can raise GDP growth and affect fiscal and external positions in host countries. It also discusses policy options, including greater support for education and integration into the workforce, which could help migrants find jobs to match their skills and help raise growth prospects in recipient countries.

Subject: Education, Human capital, International organization, Labor, Labor markets, Migration, Political economy, Population and demographics

Keywords: Caribbean, Central America, Global, Human capital, Labor markets, Migration, Migration flow, Migration flow, Migration inflow, Migration labor market unemployment spillover effects, Migration spillover, Policy action, South America, Venezuela crisis, Venezuelan migrant

Publication Details

Pages:

61
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Departmental Paper No 2022/019
Stock No:

RSVCEA
ISBN:

9798400224478
ISSN:

2616-5333

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