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Credit: R. Bradenbrink
Researching the Economic Lives of Refugees
The Refugee Economies Programme, based at the University of Oxford, undertakes research on the economic lives of refugees.
Through primary data collection, we explore the conditions under which refugees can become self-sufficient and make positive economic contributions to their host states and societies. Our research is interdisciplinary, combining economics, anthropology, history, and political science. We collect original qualitative and quantitative data, and often draw upon a range of participatory methods, including working with refugee researchers. We aim to be policy-relevant but not policy-driven, and we collaborate with governments, international organisations, NGOs, refugee-led organisations, universities, and businesses.
Credit: R. Bradenbrink
“Refugees often have skills, talents, and aspirations. And yet too often we focus just on their vulnerabilities rather than their capacities. Our research challenges the view that refugees are an inevitable burden, identifying the conditions under which they can help themselves and contribute to their host societies.”
ALEXANDER BETTS
LEOPOLD MULLER PROFESSOR OF FORCED MIGRATION
AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Panel Data
The centrepiece of our research is the collection of an original panel data set, based on multi-country and time-series data collection. With an initial focus on Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and covering 2017-2020, the data set covers urban and rural areas, refugees and hosts, and includes multiple data collection periods.
Credit: R. Bradenbrink
Our work has three complementary pillars:
Collectively, these represent the questions that need to be answered in order to effect policy change.
Economic Outcomes
What explains variation in economic outcomes for refugees and their impact on host states?
Innovative Practices
What innovative approaches have been tried and with what consequences?
Political Economy
What shapes national and local policies on economic inclusion?
Credit: R. Bradenbrink
Contact Us
To learn more about the Refugee Economies Programme or share comments or queries, please get in touch with one of the team.
Address:
Refugee Studies Centre
Oxford Department of International Development
3 Mansfield Road, OX1 3TB, Oxford
Our work is mainly funded by the IKEA Foundation.