IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/adbiwp/0935.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Syrian Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market

Author

Listed:
  • Suzuki, Ken

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Paul, Saumik

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Maru, Takeshi

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Kusadokoro, Motoi

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

Abstract

We examine the effects of the recent influx of Syrian refugees on the Turkish labor market. Exploiting this natural experiment, we estimated the causal impacts of involuntary migration on labor market outcomes. We selected the five refugee-hosting regions with the highest number of refugees as treatment regions and four comparable regions with a low refugee-to-population ratio as control regions. Using a difference-in-differences estimation, we found that informal Turkish workers in the refugee-hosting regions were about 4% more likely to leave their job than workers in regions that did not widely host refugees. Such negative impacts on labor market outcomes became larger in 2014–2015 compared with 2012–2013. Furthermore, while females and older workers withdrew themselves from the labor market, males and younger workers become unemployed after the refugee influx.

Suggested Citation

  • Suzuki, Ken & Paul, Saumik & Maru, Takeshi & Kusadokoro, Motoi, 2019. "An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Syrian Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market," ADBI Working Papers 935, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0935
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/491661/adbi-wp935.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Binnur Balkan & Semih Tumen, 2016. "Immigration and prices: quasi-experimental evidence from Syrian refugees in Turkey," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 657-686, July.
    2. Jennifer Hunt, 1992. "The Impact of the 1962 Repatriates from Algeria on the French Labor Market," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(3), pages 556-572, April.
    3. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    4. World Bank, 2009. "Female Labor Force Participation in Turkey : Trends, Determinants and Policy Framework," World Bank Publications - Reports 13249, The World Bank Group.
    5. Aysit Tansel & Elif Öznur Acar, 2017. "Labor mobility across the formal/informal divide in Turkey," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(4), pages 617-635, September.
    6. Evren Ceritoglu & H. Burcu Gurcihan Yunculer & Huzeyfe Torun & Semih Tumen, 2017. "The impact of Syrian refugees on natives’ labor market outcomes in Turkey: evidence from a quasi-experimental design," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, December.
    7. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Labor Demand Curve Is Downward Sloping: Reexamining The Impact Of Immigration On The Labor Market," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 9, pages 235-274, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Burak Sencer Atasoy, 2017. "Female Labour Force Participation in Turkey: The Role of Traditionalism," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(4), pages 675-706, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana María Tribín-Uribe, Achyuta Adhvaryu, Cesar Anzola-Bravo & Oscar Ávila-Montealegre, Leonardo Bonilla-Mejía, Juan Carlos Castro-Fernández & Luz A. Flórez, Ánderson Grajales-Olarte, Alexander Guarín, 2020. "Migración desde Venezuela en Colombia: caracterización del fenómeno y análisis de los efectos macroeconómicos," Revista ESPE - Ensayos Sobre Política Económica, Banco de la República, issue 97, pages 1-74, October.
    2. Aksu, Ege & Erzan, Refik & Kırdar, Murat Güray, 2022. "The impact of mass migration of Syrians on the Turkish labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Semih Tumen, 2015. "The use of natural experiments in migration research," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 191-191, October.
    4. Joan Monras, 2020. "Immigration and Wage Dynamics: Evidence from the Mexican Peso Crisis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(8), pages 3017-3089.
    5. Berbée, Paul & Brücker, Herbert & Garloff, Alfred & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2022. "The labor demand effects of refugee immigration: Evidence from a natural experiment," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-069, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Anda David & Charbel Nahas & Björn Nilsson & Mohamed Ali Marouani, 2018. "The economics of the Syrian refugee crisis in neighboring countries," Working Papers hal-04000224, HAL.
    7. Atiya Rahman & Anindita Bhattacharjee & Rafia Nisat & Narayan Das, 2023. "Graduation approach to poverty reduction in the humanitarian context: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1287-1317, August.
    8. Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa, 2023. "Decomposing the impact of immigration on house prices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    9. Verme, Paolo & Schuettler, Kirsten, 2021. "The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    10. Giovanni Peri & Derek Rury & Justin C. Wiltshire, 2020. "The Economic Impact of Migrants from Hurricane Maria," NBER Working Papers 27718, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Anda David & Mohamed Ali Marouani & Charbel Nahas & Björn Nilsson, 2020. "The economics of the Syrian refugee crisis in neighbouring countries: The case of Lebanon," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 89-109, January.
    12. Hausmann, Ricardo & Nedelkoska, Ljubica, 2018. "Welcome home in a crisis: Effects of return migration on the non-migrants' wages and employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 101-132.
    13. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Tumen, Semih, 2021. "Local Governance Quality and the Environmental Cost of Forced Migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    14. Balkan, Binnur & Tok, Elif Ozcan & Torun, Huzeyfe & Tumen, Semih, 2018. "Immigration, Housing Rents, and Residential Segregation: Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 11611, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Evren Ceritoglu & H. Burcu Gurcihan Yunculer & Huzeyfe Torun & Semih Tumen, 2017. "The impact of Syrian refugees on natives’ labor market outcomes in Turkey: evidence from a quasi-experimental design," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, December.
    16. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/31alui3q4c913als7a73udp5dv is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Stefan Seifert & Marica Valente, 2018. "An Offer that you Can't Refuse? Agrimafias and Migrant Labor on Vineyards in Southern Italy," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1735, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/31alui3q4c913als7a73udp5dv is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Antonella Bandiera & Lelys Dinarte Diaz & Sandra V. Rozo & Carlos Schmidt-Padilla & María Micaela Sviatschi & Hernan Winkler, 2023. "The Unintended Consequences of Deportations: Evidence from Firm Behavior in El Salvador," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(4), pages 1331-1358.
    20. Giovanni Peri, 2016. "Immigrants, Productivity, and Labor Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 3-30, Fall.
    21. Labanca, Claudio, 2020. "The effects of a temporary migration shock: Evidence from the Arab Spring migration through Italy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    22. Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre & Torun, Huzeyfe, 2020. "Two and a half million Syrian refugees, tasks and capital intensity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    refugee; migration; Syria; Turkey; difference-in-differences estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0935. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ADB Institute (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/adbinjp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.