Can Redistribution Change Policy Views? Aid and Attitudes toward Refugees in Uganda

Travis Baseler, Thomas Ginn (), Robert Hakiza (), Helidah Ogude-Chambert () and Olivia Woldemikael ()
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Thomas Ginn: Center for Global Development
Robert Hakiza: Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID)
Helidah Ogude-Chambert: University of Oxford
Olivia Woldemikael: Harvard University

No 645, Working Papers from Center for Global Development

Abstract: Many public policies create (perceived) winners and losers, but there is little evidence on whether redistribution can support new political economy equilibria that raise aggregate welfare. We conduct a randomized controlled trial in Kampala, Uganda studying foreign aid programs for Ugandans which are explicitly connected to the refugee presence. Cash grants labeled as part of the refugee aid response substantially increase support for admitting more refugees and allowing them to work and integrate. Sharing information about public goods funded by the refugee response has smaller, though still significant, effects. Impacts persist for at least two years and are associated with changing beliefs about the economic effects of refugees. We find minimal impacts of intergroup contact, implemented as business mentorship by an experienced refugee. Overall, our results suggest that economic interventions can meaningfully shape policy views when the connection between the policy and the assistance is salient.

Keywords: Refugees; Political Economy of Aid; Firms & Productivity; Post-Conflict; Welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 D83 I38 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 67 pages
Date: 2023-05-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-exp and nep-mig
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cgd:wpaper:645

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