Do Cash Transfers Reduce Work Among Refugees?: Evidence from Türkiye

Freeha Fatima, Efsan Nas Ozen and Dhushyanth Raju

No 211087, The Social Policy and Labor Discussion Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Cash assistance to refugees is often viewed with concern because regular transfers may be assumed to discourage work. Evidence from Türkiye’s Emergency Social Safety Net, one of the world’s largest humanitarian cash transfer programs, provides little support for this concern. Comparing similar Syrian refugee households near the program’s rule-based eligibility threshold, the study finds no large or statistically detectable reduction in employment among either women or men. The findings suggest that, in a labor market where refugee work is often informal, unstable, and constrained, cash assistance helps households manage economic insecurity without producing meaningful employment disincentives. Policies to strengthen refugee economic participation should therefore focus on easing barriers to job access, formal employment, and stable livelihoods, rather than assuming that reducing income support will increase work.

Date: 2026-06-09
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