The effects of climate change on internal and international migration: implications for developing countries
This working paper informs the development community about the effects of climate change on migration patterns within and out of developing countries, concentrating on the economic aspects of migration.
The paper focuses on decisions by people confronted with gradual environmental change, less on people forced to leave by sudden environmental shocks and natural disasters. In addition, the outcomes of studies that have directly investigated the relationship between climate change and migration will be assessed. In the paper, special attention is paid to migration as a risk management strategy to cope with adverse economic shocks, caused e.g. by adverse climate shocks.
The paper is intended to stimulate discussion within the research community and among users of research, and its content may have been submitted for publication in academic journals.