Forced migration: Evidence and policy challenges

Forced migration has been one of the pressing and defining issues of the last two decades. There are currently close to 100 million forcibly displaced people globally and most recently and the growing refugee crisis in Ukraine has added to the pressures and needs for the formulation of careful policy responses.

This panel will address the recent evidence and policy challenges of forced migration in Europe and other regions of the world. It will draw from the findings of the recent issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy on Forced Migration and will centre around four important questions: (i) What are the general mechanisms by which forced migrants should be managed, and what frameworks should be used for supporting them? (ii) How can policy help refugees integrate into host economies; and what are the likely consequences of this integration? (iii) How are host communities likely to respond to the influx of refugees, and how can policy help to smooth this transition? and (iv) What role can policy play to encourage resilience among refugees and internally displaced people—and, one day, potentially support their return?

The panel, chaired by Dr Isabel Ruiz will feature a conversation with Professor Alex Betts, Professor Carlos Vargas-Silva and Dr Vlad Mykhenko.

Authors of different papers will also give short introductions to the findings of their papers.