The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics

Paolo Verme and Kirsten Schuettler

Journal of Development Economics, 2021, vol. 150, issue C

Abstract: The paper reviews 59 empirical studies that estimated the economic impact of forced displacement on host communities. A review of the empirical models used by these studies and a meta-analysis of 972 separate results collected from these studies are the main contributions of the paper. Coverage extends to 19 major forced displacement crises that occurred between 1922 and 2018, to host countries at different levels of economic development and different types of forced migrants. Results refer to outcomes related to employment, wages, prices and household well-being. All studies can be classified as ex-post quasi-natural experiments. The analysis on empirical modeling shows a preference for partial equilibrium modeling, differences-in-differences evaluation methods, and cross-section econometrics, with all these choices largely dependent on the type of data available. The meta-analysis finds that most results on employment and wages are non-significant. When significant, decreases in employment and wages are more likely to occur than increases with decreases strongly associated with the short-term, middle-income countries, females, young and informal workers. Food and rent prices tend to increase in the short-term but other prices may decrease. The probability of observing a decrease in household well-being among hosts is lower than 1 in 5.

Keywords: Refugees; Returnees; Expellees; Escapees; Internally displaced persons (IDPs); Forced migration; Forced displacement; Host communities; Labor markets; Wages; Prices; Employment; Unemployment; Well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 E24 F22 F66 J08 J1 J2 J3 J4 J7 J8 N3 O15 P46 R2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (85)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Impact of Forced Displacement on Host Communities. A Review of the Empirical Literature in Economics (2020)
Working Paper: The Impact of Forced Displacement on Host Communities: A Review of the Empirical Literature in Economics (2019)
Working Paper: The Impact of Forced Displacement on Host Communities: A Review of the Empirical Literature in Economics (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:150:y:2021:i:c:s0304387820301814

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102606

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