The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration flows and remittances: effects and consequences

Abstract

The world is in constant motion, both in terms of evolution and change of territory. Migration flows have existed since the appearance of humans on earth, even though the majority of the population considers it as a recent phenomenon. Humans have always migrated in groups and as individuals to seek freedom from war and conflict, to escape hunger and poverty, to find new economic opportunities and employment, to flee from religious intolerance or political repression, or even to trade and to travel to new places. However, the continuous increase of migration flows throughout history has had certain stagnation, caused by massive events, as in the case of our research, COVID-19. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on migration flows. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the world is going through the biggest pandemic in the history, and analyzing all the consequences and effects during its evolution, can help us determine opportunities how to improve the negative impact on the economy, society and politics. As follows, the main purpose of this paper is to emphasize the effectes and consequences of COVID-19 upon the migration flows and remittances, by analyzing the 2000-2020 period with the intention to understand and evaluate the affected subjects and consequences on the global economy.