Original title:
Location choice and dispersal policies: Ukrainian war immigrants in the Czech Republic
Authors:
Adunts, Davit ; Kurylo, Bohdana ; Špeciánová, J. Document type: Research reports
Year:
2022
Language:
eng Series:
Policy Papers VÚPSV, volume: 3/2022 Abstract:
The large influx of Ukrainian immigrant refugees to the Czech Republic fleeing from the war has attracted the attention of many policymakers due to their unequal geographical distribution. The high concentration of refugees in some districts has the potential to burden the school and healthcare systems, as well as the housing market. This project aims to provide an explanation for the unequal distribution of refugees by studying the determinants of refugee location choices in the Czech Republic, including ethnic networks and employment prospects. We provided evidence of a positive association between the number of Ukrainian refugees and (i) the stock of previous Ukrainian immigrants (our measure of ethnic networks) and (ii) the number of available job positions. In addition, we conducted a review of previous studies on the effectiveness of dispersal policies and determined that such policies exert ambiguous effects on refugee labor market integration. Hence, dispersal policies need to consider the integration of refugees and their intentions to remain in the country.
Keywords:
Czech Republic; geographical distribution; Ukrainian refugees