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Matching Markets and Refugee Resettlement

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/04/europes-asylum-system-serves-neither-the-refugees-nor-the-countries-heres-a-new-way-of-thinking-about-it/?utm_term=.5178b35e6d47

The overwhelming number of incoming refugees from Middle Eastern countries, in particularly Syria, has raised a question as to how they will be resettled in European countries. Many of them don’t have a say in where they want to go. One of the solutions to this bureaucratic and logistical problem created by two Oxford academics is to use a matching markets algorithm. In matching markets, all the groups involved agree to the transaction. In this scenario, refugees that have entered Europe would be asked to write down the places they would like to live. Similarly, countries and communities would also be asked to state which refugees they desire depending on the services or skills they are lacking or need in their areas. This procedure would allow information to be collected in one system and would make sure that the participants are satisfied to some degree based on their preference rankings. Refugees have a variety of different needs and wants which makes using this process much more efficient and gives them a voice to speak for what they want. Instead of guessing their choices and making communities discontent with the kinds of refugees they receive, the matching markets solutions benefits both sides. Refugees get to go to one of their choice of locations, it may not be their first but it’s one that is on their list; and countries/communities have more control over the refugees they receive. This allows refugees to resettle in their new homes successfully and with a smoother transition than before. The only problem with matching market systems is that they are slow to be integrated since there are many choices for refugees because they are made up of families, not just single people, and there have been bad algorithms that have failed such as the school-choice system that was used in Boston. People were able to figure out the way the algorithm worked and altered their choices to get their kids into good schools. The good thing is that you can improve and change the algorithm over time to accommodate new changes.

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