Climate and Cross-Border Migration

December 8, 2023

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Paula Beltran, and Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov. Climate and Cross-Border Migration, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2023) accessed November 8, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

Our work is positioned at the intersection of migration and climate change—two key forces shaping the economic outlook of many countries. The analysis explores: (i) the relative importance of origincountry vs destination-country factors in explaining migration patterns; (ii) importance of climate disasters as driver of cross-border migration; and (iii) the importance of climate-driven migration on the overall impact of climate on macroeconomic outcomes. It arrives at the following main findings. First, both origin-country and destination-country contribute to explaining migration outflows from EMDEs, although only the global shocks seem important for advanced economies. Second, climate disasters are important for explaining the origincountry migration shocks in LICs and EMDEs, are especially relevant for smaller countries, and lead to migration of both genders, albeit relatively more for males out of LICs. Third, important portion of climate’s overall impact on economic outcomes—especially agricultural GDP, remittances, and inequality—is captured via climate-driven migration. Finally, higher investment in climate-resilient infrastructure can reduce the impact of climate on cross-border migration, and thereby, result in potentially important economic gains.

Subject: Climate change, Environment, Migration, Natural disasters, Population and demographics

Keywords: Climate, Climate change, Climate disaster, Climate Disasters, Climate-driven migration, Global, International Migration, Migration, Migration outflow, Migration pattern, Natural disasters, Origin-country migration shock

Publication Details

Pages:

45
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2023/250
Stock No:

WPIEA2023250
ISBN:

9798400261879
ISSN:

1018-5941

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