Refugees in Middle East could face forced repatriation

Subject Middle Eastern response to EU Syrian refugee policy. Significance Stricter EU migration policies have triggered mixed responses from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where most of the 5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian conflict now live. On the one hand, they have tightened border control and are seeking opportunities for repatriation. On the other, there are opportunities for lucrative agreements with international donors aimed at managing the refugee crisis within the region. Impacts Local-level agreements in Syria will pave the way for repatriation. A political crisis in Lebanon could undermine the government's ability to facilitate the transfer of Syrian refugees. More Syrian refugees are likely to be displaced in the long term, causing tensions in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

Significance According to its Global Economic Prospects report, the bank forecast a modest increase in GDP growth in 2015 to 2.0%, up from an estimated 1.5% in 2014. Since 2011, the economy has been affected by violent spillover from the Syrian conflict, most notably the arrival of over one million Syrian refugees in the country. The Interior Ministry sought to control the conflict's negative impact on security and economy by introducing on January 5 new stricter visa regulations for Syrian nationals, in effect ending Lebanon's 'open door' policy. However, the sharp fall in global oil prices promises some relief for the economy in 2015. Impacts Lebanon's security problems and political deadlock will persist absent improvement in the Syrian conflict or Saudi-Iran relations. The oil price drop will translate into a drop in consumer prices, reducing the risk of social unrest. However, the new border controls and attacks attributed to Syrians could spark protests, and clashes between refugees and Lebanese. Development of Lebanon's hydrocarbon resources will be delayed until the political crisis is resolved.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Aniela Bălăcescu ◽  
Radu Șerban Zaharia

Abstract Tourist services represent a category of services in which the inseparability of production and consumption, the inability to be storable, the immateriality, and last but not least non-durability, induces in tourism management a number of peculiarities and difficulties. Under these circumstances the development of medium-term strategies involves long-term studies regarding on the one hand the developments and characteristics of the demand, and on the other hand the tourist potential analysis at regional and local level. Although in the past 20 years there has been tremendous growth of on-line booking made by household users, the tour operators agencies as well as those with sales activity continue to offer the specific services for a large number of tourists, that number, in the case of domestic tourism, increased by 1.6 times in case of the tour operators and by 4.44 times in case of the agencies with sales activity. At the same time, there have been changes in the preferences of tourists regarding their holiday destinations in Romania. Started on these considerations, paper based on a logistic model, examines the evolution of the probabilities and scores corresponding to the way the Romanian tourists spend their holidays on the types of tourism agencies, actions and tourist areas in Romania.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez ◽  
Adolfo Cosme Fernández Puente

PurposeThe phenomenon of overeducation and the magnitude and persistence of the imbalance impact are analysed for the Spanish labour market from 2006 to 2013.Design/methodology/approachThe authors present random-effects probit estimations comparing individuals and their short-term and long-term labour mismatches.FindingsThe results support the existence of long-term persistence (status in the previous year) and short-term persistence (status at the beginning of the observed period) in overeducation. Precariousness in the labour market, measured by temporality or by the strong destruction of employment, could force individuals to choose a job below their qualification. Additionally, the phenomenon of overeducation is shown to have increased in the period 2010–2013 in relation to the period 2006–2009 independently of the region considered, though those regions with higher unemployment rates display greater imbalances.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the results come from two different samples, it is possible to conclude that overeducation is a phenomenon that tends to perpetuate over time in Spain.Practical implicationsOne of the issues of greatest interest that is crucial to assess the relevance of the spreading of overeducation is whether overeducation can be considered as a temporal mismatch, in which case the seriousness of the problem would not be so important, or, on the contrary, as a persistent one, in which case, governments should take it into account in their education reform programmes.Originality/valueOvereducation persistence has been studied in countries such as the United States, Canada, Switzerland or Germany; however, in Spain, there are hardly any studies. Spanish labour market has certain specificities that make the analyses relevant: the high unemployment rates and high elasticity of employment with respect to the economic cycles. Under these circumstances, workers could opt for more stable positions that require a lower qualification than the one they have. This option could be even more convenient during crisis. Additionally, the article includes a disaggregated analysis by Spanish regions. The differences in the unemployment rates within and between regions are significant (some of them had at the beginning of the crisis an unemployment rate close to 7%, while in others it exceeded 12%) which allows the authors to study the phenomenon in different contexts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-67
Author(s):  
Debpriya De

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues and challenges that become a hurdle towards implementation of the “Skill India Movement” at the ground level. It is critical to identify the challenges that are faced or experienced by training partners with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), skills councils and other bodies if an effort to resolve the same is to be made.Design/methodology/approachA round-table discussion was organised to seek feedback from all the stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in strategising, decision-making and implementing the government’s skills initiative. The primary data were collected through discussions and questionnaires, and the official sites of NSDC andPradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna, along with ministry reports, were referred to as well.FindingsThe research is likely to identify gaps in administration of the initiative at various levels and will hopefully provide guidance on removing bottlenecks to achieve effective implementation. It is imperative that the challenges be understood and solutions found, with focus on a long-term sustainable approach, rather than short-term gains for political propaganda purposes alone.Practical implicationsThis paper will try to bring value to the stakeholders by exploring the various measures that can be taken to take this mission in a more meaningful direction and work towards giving more employability to the youth and supporting the respective industry segments with much needed trained manpower.Originality/valueThis study discusses the issues and challenges that are impeding effective implementation of the Skill India initiative at the local level and identifies the gaps in administration. Also, it outlines how bottlenecks could be addressed to ensure that the mission is back on track and that the employability of youth is enhanced.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Nenad Miscevic ◽  

What is the role of toleration in the present-day crisis, marked by the inflow of refugees and increase in populism? The seriousness of the crises demands efforts of active toleration, acceptance, and integration of refugees and the like. Active toleration brings with itself a series of very demanding duties, divided into immediate ones involving immediate Samaritan aid to people at our doors and the long-term ones involving their acculturation and possibilities of decent life for them. A cosmopolitan attitude can contribute a lot. In the context of a refugee crisis, cosmopolitanism is not disappearing but showing its non-traditional, more Samaritan face turned not to distant strangers, as the classical one, but towards strangers at our doors.We have conjectured that this work of active toleration can diminish the need for the passive one: the well-integrated immigrant is no longer seen as a strange, exotic person with an incomprehensible and unacceptable attitude, but as one of us so that her attitudes become less irritating and provocative. The social-psychological approach that sees integration as involving both the preservation of central aspects of the original identity and the copy-pasting of the new one over it offers an interesting rationale for the conjecture: once integrated, the former newcomer is perceived as one of ‘us’ and her views stop being exotic, incomprehensible and a priori unacceptable. Given the amount of need for toleration, and difficulties and paradoxes connected with its passive variety, the conjecture, if true, might be a piece of good news.Finally, we have briefly touched the question of deeper causes of the crisis. Once one turns to this question, the traditional cosmopolitan issues come back to the forefront: the deep poverty and unjust distribution on the one hand, and conflicts and wars on the other. Cosmopolitans have a duty to face these issues, and this is where active global toleration leads in our times.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Smaniotto Costa ◽  
Tatiana Ruchinskaya ◽  
Konstantinos Lalenis

<p>The COST Action 18110 Underground4value (http://underground4value.eu) aims to advance knowledge on how to guarantee continuity of use and significance of underground historic fabric. It is collecting information, experiences and knowhow to base the development of research and training. The Action focusses on underground regeneration, revitalisation of the public realm and skills development for people concerned with underground heritage.</p><p>This contribution centres the attention of the Working Group on Planning Approaches. It also looks at the role of local authorities, as enablers and facilitators, in coordination, use  and management of underground built heritage. In this framework underground built heritage is considered as a social resource with integrated programmes of physical, economic and social measures, backed by strategic stakeholder dialogue.</p><p>On the one hand, this contribution discusses the structure and goals of the WG, as it pays attention to the necessary complementarities between functional approaches – at the level of regions and city – and social and cultural approaches involving citizens’ engagement and empowerment – at the local level. This WG aims to provide a reflection on sustainable approaches to preserve the underground built heritage and, at the same time, to unfold the case by case approach for potential use of underground space. On the other hand, to achieve its objectives the WG on Planning Approaches is setting together potentials and constraints in the efforts to make better use of underground heritage. This contribution, therefore, sheds lights on the preliminary results of the WG. It is centred on the learned lessons, challenges and barriers - from a planning science perspective - that experts met in their efforts to tackle Underground Built Heritage. Achieving this goal makes the call for an educational paradigm shift - as the Action is not only interested in compiling the results, rather on experiences that can be analysed and learned. This requires a dynamic understanding of knowledge, abilities and skills, towards creating more effective coalitions of ‘actors’ within localities, by developing structures, which encourage long term collaborative relationships. Enabled by the gained knowledge, the WG will define the best tailored ways to forward this knowledge for planners and decision-makers.</p>


Subject Populists' exploitation of the refugee crisis in Central Europe. Significance Support for populist parties has risen after last year's refugee crisis across the EU, but nowhere have they been as successful as in Central Europe (CE). Peddling migrant fears has secured the re-election of Robert Fico's Smer (Slovakia) and the revival of Viktor Orban's Fidesz (Hungary) from a post-election popularity slump. On the back of the migration tide, populists are transforming CE's political trajectory. Impacts A united CE front will gain prominence at the EU, stoking tensions with Berlin on migration policy and the future of EU integration. The strengthened legitimacy of illiberal positions on migration will foster the emergence of imitators elsewhere in Europe. The chance of an EU-level, long-term solution to the refugee crisis will remain slim in the medium term.


Subject Challenges facing the healthcare system. Significance A doctors' strike in Haiti has highlighted the parlous state of the country's health system, which is struggling to cope with successive medical crises. The health system requires a large funding injection to restore and improve medical provisions to the population, but the current political crisis looks set to prevent the development of a long-term strategy. Impacts Deteriorating healthcare may lead to an increase in migration to the Dominican Republic. Washington's decision not to fund October's election raises the risk of further delays, distracting political focus from healthcare. Electoral problems may deter some aid agencies from increasing funding, undermining healthcare assistance.


Subject The prospects for Greek departure from the euro-area. Significance Since the political crisis of 2012, when the term 'Grexit' -- Greek exit from the euro -- was coined, the risk of such an eventuality has increased. The Greek economy would suffer enormous damage, while the euro-area would incur significant political and economic blows, including a contraction estimated at 1.5% of euro-area GDP, at the very least -- greater than the current contribution of the Greek economy. For Greece, a 20% contraction and a 50% erosion of average per capita income in euro terms are forecast. The new currency would be unlikely to promote exports, because of the high cost of imported machinery and intermediate goods, and the tourism industry would also be exposed to high inputs. Impacts Grexit would profoundly alter the economic and political profile of Greece, isolating it and shutting out external investment. Grexit would highlight persistent structural problems of Europe's monetary union, throwing doubt on its long-term soundness and viability. Membership reversibility implicitly reintroduces the notion of currency risk for the euro-area's most vulnerable peripheral countries. It would also destabilise such neighbours as Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, where Greek banks have significant presence.


Significance However, even in this extremity, it maintains a hostile attitude to old enemy Islamic State (IS). In Yemen, the other regional country where the two come into close contact, the local al-Qaida branch in its August 28 newsletter also strongly attacked IS, accusing it of fomenting intra-Muslim divisions. Impacts Even those al-Qaida supporters claiming to see a more ‘moderate’ trend in IS only identify a long-term possibility of rapprochement. As the Syrian conflict winds down, IS and HTS may step up competition, as insurgent cells launch terrorist attacks from desert bases. Splits between the different al-Qaida branches could worsen as some seek more pragmatic alliances and others prioritise ideological purity. In Yemen, al-Qaida’s deeper societal roots will give it greater long-term resilience than IS.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document