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The Impact of Refugees on Employment and Wages in Jordan

Author

Listed:
  • Belal Fallah

    (Palestine Polytechnic University)

  • Caroline Krafft
  • Jackline Wahba

Abstract

Starting in 2011, the Syrian conflict caused a large influx of refugees into Jordan. As of 2015, there were an estimated 1.3 million Syrians in a country with just 6.6 million Jordanians. The refugees are largely living and, in some cases, working in Jordanian host communities. This paper investigates the impact of the refugee influx on the Jordanian labor market. Panel data from 2010 and 2016 combined with information on where the refugee influx was concentrated allow us to identify the impact of refugees on Jordanians’ labor market outcomes. Overall, we find that Jordanians living in areas with additional refugees have had no worse labor market outcomes than Jordanians with less exposure to the refugee influx.

Suggested Citation

  • Belal Fallah & Caroline Krafft & Jackline Wahba, 2018. "The Impact of Refugees on Employment and Wages in Jordan," Working Papers 1189, Economic Research Forum, revised 03 May 2018.
  • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:1189
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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