States that host large numbers of immigrants should resist popular pressure to erect barriers to newcomers in the economic downturn and highlight the economic benefits of migration, according to United Nations development experts.

In a study published on Monday, the UN Development Programme acknowledges that “the tendency to blame outsiders for society’s ills is accentuated during economic downturns”. It argues, however, that closing the door to people from abroad would be short-sighted, even from a strictly economic perspective.