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Unwelcome Guests? The Effects of Refugees on the Educational Outcomes of Incumbent Students

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  • David N. Figlio
  • Umut Özek

Abstract

The world is experiencing the second largest refugee crisis in a century, and one of the major points of contention involves the possible adverse effects of incoming refugees on host communities. We examine the effects of a large refugee influx into Florida public schools following the Haitian earthquake of 2010 using unique matched birth and schooling records. We find precise zero estimated effects of refugees on the educational outcomes of incumbent students in the year of the earthquake or in the two years that follow, regardless of the socioeconomic status, grade level, ethnicity, or birthplace of incumbent students.

Suggested Citation

  • David N. Figlio & Umut Özek, 2017. "Unwelcome Guests? The Effects of Refugees on the Educational Outcomes of Incumbent Students," NBER Working Papers 23661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23661
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    Cited by:

    1. Contreras, Dante & Gallardo, Sebastián, 2022. "The effects of mass migration on the academic performance of native students. Evidence from Chile," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Meschi, Elena & Pavese, Caterina, 2023. "Ability composition in the class and the school performance of immigrant students," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. David Figlio & Paola Giuliano & Riccardo Marchingiglio & Umut Ozek & Paola Sapienza, 2024. "Diversity in Schools: Immigrants and the Educational Performance of U.S.-Born Students," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(2), pages 972-1006.
    4. Palsson, Craig, 2023. "The forces of path dependence: Haiti's refugee camps, 1937–2009," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Morales, Camila, 2022. "Do refugee students affect the academic achievement of peers? Evidence from a large urban school district," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Tumen, Semih, 2021. "The effect of refugees on native adolescents’ test scores: Quasi-experimental evidence from PISA," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Holmlund, Helena & Lindahl, Erica & Roman, Sara, 2023. "Immigrant peers in the class: Effects on natives’ long-run revealed preferences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Alexandra de Gendre & Nicolás Salamanca, 2020. "On the Mechanisms of Ability Peer Effects," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2020n19, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    9. Padilla-Romo, María & Peluffo, Cecilia, 2023. "Violence-induced migration and peer effects in academic performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    10. Ayesh, Abubakr, 2024. "Mass involuntary migration and educational attainment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    11. Abdulmohsen Almuhaisen, 2024. "Refugee influx and school enrollment among native youths in Jordan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-28, March.
    12. Diyi Li & Cheng Qian & Cory Koedel, 2020. "Nonresident Postsecondary Enrollment Growth And The Outcomes Of In‐State Students," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 736-757, October.
    13. Holmlund, Helena & Lindahl, Erica & Roman, Sara, 2021. "Immigrant peers in the class: responses among natives and the effects on long-run revealed preferences," Working Paper Series 2021:16, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    14. Diemer, Andreas, 2022. "Endogenous peer effects in diverse friendship networks: Evidence from Swedish classrooms," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Mayda, Anna-Maria & Parsons, Christopher & Pham, Han & Vézina, Pierre-Louis, 2022. "Refugees and foreign direct investment: Quasi-experimental evidence from US resettlements," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    16. Jason Fletcher & Jinho Kim & Jenna Nobles & Stephen Ross & Irina Shaorshadze, 2021. "The Effects of Foreign-Born Peers in US High Schools and Middle Schools," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 432-468.
    17. Cortina Toro,Magdalena & Jimenez,Juan Miguel & Rozo Villarraga,Sandra Viviana, 2024. "Little Nomads : Economic and Social Impacts of Migration on Children," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10686, The World Bank.
    18. 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).
    19. Chuard, Caroline & Aerne, Annatina & Eugster, Beatrix & Hodler, Roland, 2025. "Ethnic clustering in schools and early career outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    20. Chevalier, Arnaud & Isphording, Ingo E. & Lisauskaite, Elena, 2020. "Peer diversity, college performance and educational choices," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    21. Clemens, Michael A. & Pritchett, Lant, 2019. "The new economic case for migration restrictions: An assessment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 153-164.
    22. Sergio Parra Cely & Clotilde Mahé, 2020. "Does Internal Displacement Affect Educational Achievement in Host Communities?," DEM Discussion Paper Series 20-05, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    23. Kelvin K. C. Seah, 2021. "Impact of Immigrant Peers on Native Students’ Achievement: Evidence from Australia, Canada and the United States," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(1), pages 94-116, March.
    24. Green, Colin & Iversen, Jon Marius Vaag, 2022. "Refugees and the educational attainment of natives: Evidence from Norway," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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