The Importance of Migration to Small Fragile Economies

Most small fragile states have their own unique circumstances that predispose them to social conflict or frequent economic disruptions. These disruptions end up imposing a large cost on regional neighbours and on the international community more broadly. Therefore the development community is in search of ways to reduce the risk of conflict but this search has proved elusive thus far. This paper explores the potential for migration to serve as a safety valve as well as a medium term strategy for employment creation in conflict-prone states. It draws together the analytical and empirical arguments needed to make the case for enhancing the labour mobility options for these vulnerable populations.