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Are Refugees a Burden? Impacts of Refugee Inflows on Hosts Consumption Expenditures

Author

Listed:
  • Sandra Rozo

    (University of Southern California)

  • Micaela Sviastchi

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

We examine the impact of Syrian refugee inflows on the consumption expenditures and income of Jordanian nationals. We combine administrative data with individual panel data and exploit the fact that after the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, refugees have relocated disproportionately to areas close to the three largest refugee camps. We find that higher refugee inflows lead to a redistribution of the composition of locals’ consumption expenditures in favor of greater spending on housing and transportation and lower expenditures on food, education, health care, and communication. Higher housing expenditures are accompanied by a decline in housing quality for young individuals working in the informal sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra Rozo & Micaela Sviastchi, 2018. "Are Refugees a Burden? Impacts of Refugee Inflows on Hosts Consumption Expenditures," Working Papers 2018-3, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:econom:2018-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Ashenafi Belayneh Ayenew, 2020. "Welfare Impact of Hosting Refugees in Ethiopia," HiCN Working Papers 341, Households in Conflict Network.
    2. Ayenew,Ashenafi Belayneh, 2021. "Welfare Impact of Hosting Refugees in Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9613, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Refugees; Welfare; Migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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