Can't Work, Can't Go, Can't Stay. A Virus Trilemma
Millions of migrant laborers around the world are trapped in limbo, cutting off the flow of money they send home.
A rock and a hard place and a harder place.
Photographer: Noah Seelam/AFP
The Covid-19 pandemic is exposing deep flaws in the economic model that both encourages and exploits migrant labor. Too many rich countries are dependent on low-cost workers, and too many poor communities are over-reliant on the money sent home for food, shelter and education.
Remittances to low and middle income countries will drop by a fifth this year to $445 billion, according to a recent World Bank report. That’s the worst slide in decades and a sharp turnaround from last year’s increase to a record $554 billion, which exceeded foreign direct investment in these destinations. The lender forecasts a slide of 22% in South Asia, where funds are largely bound for India and Pakistan. The Philippines, which gets 10% of its gross domestic product from such payments, could see a decline of 13%.