The increase in refugees due to World War I affect European economies because governments were forced to pay for food and shelter for poor refugees in their countries.
Refugees are all those people fleeing conflict or persecution. Refugees are defined and protected in international law, and must not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom are at risk.
Around 160,000 refugees remained on UK registers at the end of 1916, the number dropping only slightly before the war ended.