Washington Post | 02.11.2017
By Charles Martin-Shields, Steffen Angenendt and Benjamin Schraven
Can foreign aid be used to prevent or slow migration? As the Mediterranean migration crisis continues, some politicians want to tie aid to anti-migration measures. They argue that countries that fail to prevent migration or won’t take back failed asylum seekers should be denied development assistance. Underlying this argument is the assumption that receiving countries should use development aid to create jobs within the country — and thus prevent further emigration.
This argument might appeal to some voters in wealthier countries. But it’s based on a misunderstanding of the relationship between development and migration — and, in particular, a phenomenon called the “migration hump.”
