Economic Insecurity as a Major Complex Factor Behind Causes of the Current Wave of Emigration from Afghanistan

Abstract

The topic of the thesis is important due to a massive influx of migrants outflow from Afghanistan. It implies political, social and economic challenges for Afghanistan and the receiving countries. More than 250,000 Afghans migrated within one year in 2015. The study focused on causes of this massive brain-drain. The study reveals how and why youth are migrating from Afghanistan. The research used pre-existing theories on international migration, which describes reasons of migration. The pre-existing theories propounded by prominent scholars best described the ongoing problems in Afghanistan that people flee from. Unemployment, low level of income, the difference in real wages among Afghanistan and EU, unequal economic development between industrialized and the peripheral agriculture country, unbalanced distribution of capital and labor among countries and structural demand of labor markets in developed countries were among theories propounded by dominant scholars. Moreover, the theories also expressed that people migrate for searching new opportunities of living, education, health, and high living standards with quality public services. The outcome of this thesis shows similar causes described by pre-existing studies. Moreover, besides pre-existing theories of migration, the study found additional reasons that forced the Afghan migrants. The migration outflow is mainly caused by economic crisis emerged from post-2014 challenges. Despite the decisions of emigration are driven by combination of push and pull factors, but the main causes are embedded in economic insecurity. Economic insecurity retained top place as the main drivers of the migration from Afghanistan. The findings include variety of other reasons emerged from primary and secondary data; the poverty trap, the conflict trap and state fragility trap are among respondents choose to migrate from Afghanistan. NATO/ISAF’s withdrawal imputed the migration along ODA foreign aid cut-off. NGO-State wage differentials within Afghanistan are among the driving forces, some Afghans choose to migrate when they lost NGO level salary. Increasing insecurity, personal persecution, personal enmity, increasing ethnic violence were among the reasons respondents mentioned in primary data collection. Few mentioned corruption, poor governance and leadership as one of the reasons of their migration. Along pull factors at destination country, the study found out why the migrants did not choose to migrate and stay at neighboring countries. The study is a significant contribution in the field of migration for economists, politicians and policy makers, which will provide a theoretical framework and detailed information on the drawbacks that forced people to migrate.