The impacts of refugee repatriation on receiving communities

Bibliographic Data

ID12694964
AuthorsIsabel Ruiz (0000-0002-8195-4943, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, Mansfield Rd, Oxford OX1 3TD, UK, corresponding author), Carlos Vargas-Silva (0000-0003-0578-4775, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford, 58 Banbury Rd, Oxford OX2 6QS, UK)
Year2020
Volume21
Issue2
Pages169-194
Publication date2020-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Economic Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-2702 • E-ISSN: 1468-2710
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/jeg/lbaa004
OpenAlexW3014609524
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited29

Using longitudinal data from Burundi, we explore the consequences of refugee repatriation for stayee households in a context in which returnees faced restrictions on economic activities and mobility while abroad. We use geographical features of the receiving communities, including altitude and distance to the border, for identification. We find that a 1 percentage point increase in the local share of the population accounted for by returnees leads to a reduction in the livestock of stayee households which is equivalent to 1 fowl per adult member or a 5% with respect to the mean. A higher share of returnees in a community also leads to less land access, lower subjective well-being and higher food insecurity for stayees. The negative effects on subjective well-being and food security disappear over the rounds of the survey (5 years), likely as a consequence of stayee households adjusting their economic activities in response to the presence of returnees

Business · Context (archaeology · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Population · Refugee · Repatriation · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Demography