1. Covid-19 insecurities and migration aspirations.
- Author
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Simon, Miranda, Schwartz, Cassilde, and Hudson, David
- Subjects
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COVID-19 , *LAYOFFS , *JOB security , *PANDEMICS , *EMIGRATION & immigration - Abstract
Using an original survey, this paper examines how pandemic-driven insecurities have affected aspirations to migrate internationally among youth in The Gambia. We find that individuals perceive wide inequalities between their government's performance and the speed of Covid-19 recovery abroad. However, superior recovery abroad does not have significant effects on aspirations to migrate. Individual and local sources of security are more important: Individuals who were able to maintain their jobs throughout the pandemic are less likely to aspire to move abroad. The insecurity of Covid-19 job loss may be compensated by confidence in one's government's ability to tackle the pandemic. This suggests that, in the context of an event that has upended people's lives, would-be migrants who managed to maintain a source of stability may seek comfort in familiar contexts; even if they appear worse than alternatives abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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