The solution to the migrant crisis is jobs in low income countries

Last year witnessed the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war. But Europe is far from alone in confronting swelling ranks of migrants. Globally, one out of every 122 people is a refugee, an asylum seeker, or an internally displaced person.

In the last 15 years, the number of those travelling in pursuit of better lives and work abroad has surged by 43% to 200 million. To put that figure in perspective, that’s more than three times the population of the UK.

The sobering reality is that this “tragedy of epic proportions” – in the words of leading UN officials, may merely be a harbinger of what is to come. Several trends are likely to amplify global migration.

Demographic studies suggest that by 2050, an additional 630 million people will have joined the labour market in the least developed countries (LDCs), where a quarter of the world’s young people reside today.

The rapid spread of mobile phones and the internet will further expose the chasm between the world’s islands of prosperity and oceans of deprivation. And cheaper transportation and greater connectivity may prompt more of the world’s poor to decamp for a better life abroad. In short, we may have seen nothing yet.

Stop-gap emergency responses are vital, but they do little to address one key root cause of migration: chronic poverty

For those of us in a position to act, it is high time to look beyond the headline-grabbing crises of today to the brewing crises of tomorrow. We need to tackle challenges before they become threats. Stop-gap emergency responses are vital, but they do little to address one key root cause of migration: chronic poverty and economic fragility.

Of course, poverty is not the only – or often even the most important – factor in triggering large-scale movements of people. But it is neither acceptable nor sustainable. Without economic resilience, poor and fragile countries are more vulnerable to health epidemics, environmental disasters, and civil strife. In Liberia, for instance, the devastating effects of the Ebola outbreak crippled the entire economy, with GDP growth plummeting from 6% to 1%. Collapsing commodity prices and dimming global prospects have further sapped the country’s vitality.

Everyone strives for a promise of life in dignity. But while children in the rich world take that promise for granted, it rings hollow for most in the developing world.

If you polled African youngsters about where they would want to live, they could probably rattle off a handful of dream destinations in the developed world. On the other hand, if you asked them to name five things that are made in Africa, you might get blank stares.

We must reignite the engines of growth by stimulating private sector development

This conspicuous silence reveals a simple yet often overlooked truth: prosperity rests on increased value-added production that generates more and better jobs. And this will require harnessing the power of trade and investment to accelerate economic transformation.

To meet the aspirations of those yearning for a better life – and to avert the humanitarian catastrophes of future migration crises – we need to reboot the economic conditions for prosperity in the poorest and most fragile countries on our planet.

Looking to the future, it will be imperative to widen and diversify economic opportunities in current and emerging migrant-sourcing and -transit countries, with a particular focus on rural areas, women, and the LDCs. We must reignite the engines of growth by stimulating private sector development particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, productive domestic and foreign investments, and international trade. We must foster stability and conflict prevention through regional economic integration and deepened connectivity of businesses and individuals. And we must enhance the benefits of migration and economic returns for countries that send migrants, including through diaspora funding and better use of migrant communities to unlock new export markets.

What is needed is an urgent and comprehensive response to tackle the missing economic opportunities that not only occasionally fuel social and political instability, but also drive young people to emigrate. And for developing countries coping with the arrival of new migrants, we need to marshal support to convert what is considered a burden into an asset.

It’s high time to think beyond emergency responses. Only the creation of decent job opportunities on a significant scale in poor countries will seriously contribute, in the long run, to making migration a personal choice rather than a last resort.