Economy of Lebanon looses 50% of its potential because of labor migration

Al Diyar newspaper published an article about the migration of the Lebanese youth and its impact on the Lebanese economy. The article is based on an interview with economic expert Elie Yashu3i who notes that there are many reasons for migrating but forced migration is the worse and represents 80% of total migrations. The majority of forced migrants are educated youth who possess skills and capacities.  He adds that if the state provided opportunities for the youth to stay, the economy would fare better and the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would increase up to USD 90 billion which is double what it is today. Yashu3i deplored the fact that the political elite does not care for this phenomenon and chooses to look at it only as a source of remittances. Yashu3i added that if youth were to stay in Lebanon and employ their skills, they would produce extra economic benefits of more than USD 50 billion per year compared to USD 8 billion of remittances a year. Yashu3i confirmed that the Lebanese economy, if properly reformed, can absorb the return of the youth population.  According to the economic expert, addressing the problem of youth requires a radical shift and a change of the political system. On a related vein, An Nahar newspaper published a report where it indicated that the US embassy is currently receiving some 40000 visa applications a year, including students and employees of which a large portion are seeking to migrate. However, of that total only 3000 applications are blessed with the issuing of a migration visa. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 27 April 2015)