Refugees: Economic Costs and Eventual Benefits

The war between Ukraine and Russia resulted in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. The chapter begins with a brief historic overview needed for a realistic assessment of the current situation. Then it deals with the problems of definitions and ambiguous, patchy, and sometimes contradictory statistics. The evolution of the international institutional and legal system for refugees is described, with its strengths and weaknesses analysed. Special attention is paid to the activities of the UNHCR. Recent trends and developments regarding attitudes and policies towards refugees are also discussed. The current Ukrainian refugee wave is compared with some earlier, and the most relevant data is presented on the magnitude and other dimensions of the refugee migration that the war has caused. The state of the refugees in CEE countries is described, focusing on Poland, where the number of Ukrainian refugees is the highest. Policies, field activities, costs and other expenditures are compared, especially those of accommodation, health, living conditions and education. A special section is devoted to the protection of children. The most important lessons learnt and policy recommendations are summarised at the end.