IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/eurjdr/v34y2022i3d10.1057_s41287-022-00536-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

More than the Sum of Its Parts: Donor-Sponsored Cash-for-Work Programmes and Social Cohesion in Jordanian Communities Hosting Syrian Refugees

Author

Listed:
  • Tina Zintl

    (German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut Für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

  • Markus Loewe

    (German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut Für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

Abstract

Cash-for-Work (CfW)/public works programmes have gained great interest recently because they can deliver employment and income for vulnerable households, in addition to dearly needed infrastructure. Studying donor-funded CfW programmes for Syrian refugees and their local neighbours in Jordan we show that CfW can also improve social cohesion, which is particularly important in the context of state fragility and migration. The studied programmes strengthen the sense of belonging and horizontal trust of participants and non-participants, refugees and locals, and in particular women. Their effect on vertical trust, however, is more ambiguous because many Syrians and Jordanians attribute positive effects to donor support rather than to Jordanian authorities. We use a mixed method approach including semi-structured interviews with 390 CfW participants, other community members and neutral observers and a quantitative analysis of a survey covering all 1847 participants of one CfW programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Tina Zintl & Markus Loewe, 2022. "More than the Sum of Its Parts: Donor-Sponsored Cash-for-Work Programmes and Social Cohesion in Jordanian Communities Hosting Syrian Refugees," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1285-1307, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:34:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1057_s41287-022-00536-y
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-022-00536-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41287-022-00536-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41287-022-00536-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keetie Roelen & Carmen Leon-Himmelstine & Sung Kyu Kim, 2022. "Chicken or Egg? A Bi-directional Analysis of Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Burundi and Haiti," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1216-1239, June.
    2. Loewe, Markus & Zintl, Tina & Fritzenkötter, Jörn & Gantner, Verena & Kaltenbach, Regina & Pohl, Lena, 2020. "Community effects of cash-for-work programmes in Jordan: Supporting social cohesion, more equitable gender roles and local economic development in contexts of flight and migration," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 103, number 103, March.
    3. Wietzke, Frank-Borge, 2014. "Pathways from jobs to social cohesion," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6804, The World Bank.
    4. Gehrke, Esther & Hartwig, Renate, 2018. "Productive effects of public works programs: What do we know? What should we know?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 111-124.
    5. Lehmann, M. Christian & Masterson, Daniel T. R., 2020. "Does Aid Reduce Anti-refugee Violence? Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Lebanon," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1335-1342, November.
    6. Markus Loewe & Tina Zintl, 2021. "Do Social Transfers Benefit Local Economic Development? The Case of Cash-for-Work Programmes in Jordan," Working Papers 1467, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 Mar 2021.
    7. World Bank, 2018. "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan," World Bank Publications - Reports 30947, The World Bank Group.
    8. Jessica Hagen‐Zanker & Martina Ulrichs & Rebecca Holmes, 2018. "What are the effects of cash transfers for refugees in the context of protracted displacement? Findings from Jordan," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(2), pages 57-77, April.
    9. Elsa Valli & Amber Peterman & Melissa Hidrobo, 2019. "Economic Transfers and Social Cohesion in a Refugee-Hosting Setting," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(S1), pages 128-146, December.
    10. Caroline Krafft & Susan Razzaz & Caitlyn Keo & Ragui Assaad, 2019. "The Number and Characteristics of Syrians in Jordan: A Multi-Source Analysis," Working Papers 1288, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    11. Armando Barrientos & James Scott, 2008. "Social Transfers and Growth: A Review," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 5208, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    12. Alrababa'h, Ala' & Dillon, Andrea Balacar & Williamson, Scott & Hainmueller, Jens & Hangartner, Dominik & Weinstein, Jeremy, 2021. "Attitudes toward migrants in a highly impacted economy: evidence from the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102980, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Markus Loewe & Rana Jawad, 2018. "Introducing social protection in the Middle East and North Africa: Prospects for a new social contract?," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(2), pages 3-18, April.
    14. Ovadiya,Mirey & Kryeziu,Adea & Masood,Syeda & Zapatero Larrio,Eric, 2015. "Social protection in fragile and conflict-affected countries : trends and challenges," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 96378, The World Bank.
    15. Stefan Beierl & Marina Dodlova, 2022. "Public Works Programmes and Cooperation for the Common Good: Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1264-1284, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    2. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Eggerman, Jannik J. & Jefferies, Philip & Qtaishat, Lina & Dajani, Rana & Kumar, Praveen, 2024. "Does volunteering impact refugee women's life satisfaction, empowerment, and wellbeing? Experimental evidence, local knowledge, and causal reasoning," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    3. Omar Albatayneh & Sherif M. Gaweesh & Dima A. Husein Malkawi, 2024. "Forward-Thinking for Sustainable Shared Mobility Solutions in Amman," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Shaddin Almasri, 2024. "How humanitarian–development responses may discriminate by nationality: Refugee and migrant inclusion following the 2016 Jordan Compact," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(1), January.
    5. Stöcker, Alexander & Zintl, Tina, 2024. "Economic development and barriers to (decent) work for women in SSA and MENA," IDOS Discussion Papers 16/2024, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).

    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. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    2. Loewe, Markus & Zintl, Tina & Fritzenkötter, Jörn & Gantner, Verena & Kaltenbach, Regina & Pohl, Lena, 2020. "Community effects of cash-for-work programmes in Jordan: Supporting social cohesion, more equitable gender roles and local economic development in contexts of flight and migration," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 103, number 103, March.
    3. Markus Loewe & Tina Zintl, 2021. "State Fragility, Social Contracts and the Role of Social Protection: Perspectives from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Hızıroğlu Aygün, Aysun & Kırdar, Murat Güray & Koyuncu, Murat & Stoeffler, Quentin, 2024. "Keeping refugee children in school and out of work: Evidence from the world's largest humanitarian cash transfer program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    5. Feng Lan & Weichao Xu & Weizeng Sun & Xiaonan Zhao, 2024. "From poverty to prosperity: assessing of sustainable poverty reduction effect of “welfare-to-work” in Chinese counties," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Özler, Berk & Çelik, Çiğdem & Cunningham, Scott & Cuevas, P. Facundo & Parisotto, Luca, 2021. "Children on the move: Progressive redistribution of humanitarian cash transfers among refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    7. Kirsten Schuettler, 2020. "Jobs Interventions for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons," World Bank Publications - Reports 34767, The World Bank Group.
    8. Sarah Stillman & Sandra V Rozo & Abdulrazzak Tamim & I Bailey Palmer & Emma Smith & Edward Miguel, 2022. "The Syrian refugee life study: first glance," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 38(3), pages 625-653.
    9. Krafft Caroline & Assaad Ragui, 2021. "Introducing the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey 2016," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-42, January.
    10. Becker, Malte & Krüger, Finja & Heidland, Tobias, 2022. "Country, culture or competition: What drives attitudes towards immigrants in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Kiel Working Papers 2224, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Shamsuddin,Mrittika & Acosta,Pablo Ariel & Battaglin Schwengber,Rovane & Fix,Jedediah Rooney & Pirani,Nikolas, 2021. "Integration of Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9605, The World Bank.
    12. Assaad, Ragui & Ginn, Thomas & Saleh, Mohamed, 2023. "Refugees and the education of host populations: Evidence from the Syrian inflow to Jordan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    13. Jules Gazeaud & Victor Stephane, 2023. "Productive Workfare? Evidence from Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 265-290, January.
    14. Kai Barron & Heike Harmgart & Steffen Huck & Sebastian O. Schneider & Matthias Sutter, 2023. "Discrimination, Narratives, and Family History: An Experiment with Jordanian Host and Syrian Refugee Children," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(4), pages 1008-1016, July.
    15. Juan M. Villa, 2016. "Social Transfers and Growth: Evidence from Luminosity Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(1), pages 39-61.
    16. Andrew Shepherd & Sylvia Bishop, 2013. "Aid and Poverty: Why Does Aid Not Address Poverty (Much)?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-020, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Carolina Bloch & Charlotte Bilo & Imane Helmy & Rafael Guerreiro Osorio & Fábio Veras Soares, 2019. "Fiscal space for child-sensitive social protection in the MENA region," Research Report 36, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    18. Vrânceanu, Alina & Dinas, Elias & Heidland, Tobias & Ruhs, Martin, 2023. "The European refugee crisis and public support for the externalisation of migration management," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 279441, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    19. Mideros Andrés & O’Donoghue Cathal, 2015. "The Effect of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Adult Labour Supply: A Unitary Discrete Choice Model for the Case of Ecuador," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 225-255, December.
    20. Tamim, Abdulrazzak & Smith, Emma & Palmer, I. Bailey & Miguel, Edward & Oparina, Ekaterina & Rozo, Sandra V. & Stillman, Sarah, 2025. "Housing Subsidies for Refugees: Experimental Evidence on Life Outcomes and Social Integration in Jordan," IZA Discussion Papers 17622, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash-for-work; Public works; Social cohesion; Social protection; Refugees; Jordan; Middle East and North Africa (MENA); Social transfer schemes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    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:pal:eurjdr:v:34:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1057_s41287-022-00536-y. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    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.