Home Sharp fall in global migration threatens economic recovery Sharp fall in global migration threatens economic recovery Pandemic ended decade-long expansion of population and worker flows around the world World Economy News 9 Feb 2021 • 4 min read Countries that have weathered the pandemic well face a lasting economic drag from the global collapse in skilled migration which will stunt the growth of their working-age population, economists have warned. The coronavirus crisis ended a decade’s steady growth in flows of migrants around the world, according to data collated by the OECD. Although few countries have published figures for 2020 as a whole, Jean-Christophe Dumont, who leads research on migration at the Paris-based organisation, said the year-on-year drop in inward flows to rich countries ranged from 30 per cent up to 70 or 80 per cent in those such as Australia and New Zealand that closed their borders almost completely.