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Refugees and the education of host populations: Evidence from the Syrian inflow to Jordan

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  • Assaad, Ragui
  • Ginn, Thomas
  • Saleh, Mohamed

Abstract

While labor market impacts of refugees in low- and middle-income countries are commonly studied, public services like education could also be affected by mass arrivals. This paper examines the impact of Syrian refugees on the educational outcomes of Jordanians. Combining detailed household surveys with school-level records on the density of Syrians, we study both the quantity and quality of education using a difference-in-differences design across refugee prevalence and schooling cohort. We find no evidence that Syrians significantly affected the educational outcomes of Jordanians. We show that the government’s response of establishing second shifts in existing public schools and opening new schools in camps mitigated potential overcrowding.

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  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:164:y:2023:i:c:s030438782300086x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103131
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    Cited by:

    1. Çakır, Selcen & Erbay, Elif & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2021. "Syrian Refugees and Human Capital Accumulation of Native Children in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 14972, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Tumen, Semih, 2018. "The Impact of Low-Skill Refugees on Youth Education," IZA Discussion Papers 11869, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Verme, Paolo & Schuettler, Kirsten, 2021. "The impact of forced displacement on host communities: A review of the empirical literature in economics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Stillman, Sarah & Rozo, Sandra V & Tamim, Abdulrazzak & Palmer, I Bailey & Smith, Emma & Miguel, Edward, 2022. "The Syrian refugee life study: first glance," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt6hr6f3wx, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    5. Nelly Elmallakh & Jackline Wahba, 2023. "Syrian Refugees and the Migration Dynamics of Jordanians: Moving In or Moving Out?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(4), pages 1283-1330.
    6. 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.
    7. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Tumen, Semih, 2021. "Local Governance Quality and the Environmental Cost of Forced Migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    8. 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).
    9. Henrique, 2024. "The Power of Dialogue: Forced Displacement and Social Integration amid an Islamist Insurgency in Mozambique," HiCN Working Papers 405, Households in Conflict Network.
    10. 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.
    11. Krafft Caroline & Assaad Ragui & Rahman Khandker Wahedur, 2021. "Introducing the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, January.
    12. Mustafa Özer & Jan Fidrmuc, 2024. "Does Immigration Affect the Natives’ Mental Health? Causal Evidence from Forced Syrian Migration to Turkey," CESifo Working Paper Series 11399, CESifo.
    13. Drouvelis, Michalis & Malaeb, Bilal & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wahba, Jackline, 2021. "Cooperation in a fragmented society: Experimental evidence on Syrian refugees and natives in Lebanon," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 176-191.
    14. 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.
    15. Caroline Krafft & Maia Sieverding & Nasma Berri & Caitlyn Keo & Mariam Sharpless, 2022. "Education Interrupted: Enrollment, Attainment, and Dropout of Syrian Refugees in Jordan," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(9), pages 1874-1892, September.
    16. Alhawarin, Ibrahim & Assaad, Ragui & Elsayed, Ahmed, 2021. "Migration shocks and housing: Short-run impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    17. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad & Ruby Cheung, 2024. "Introducing the Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey 2022," HiCN Working Papers 406, Households in Conflict Network.
    18. Tumen, Semih & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wahba, Jackline, 2021. "Training Teachers for Diversity Awareness: Impact on School Attendance of Refugee Children," IZA Discussion Papers 14557, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Blanco,Christian & Meneses,Francisco Jalles & Villamizar-Chaparro,Mateo, 2022. "Why Student Aid Matters ? Roadblocks to the Transition into Higher Education forForced Migrants in Chile," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10104, The World Bank.
    20. Alhawarin, Ibrahim & Assaad, Ragui & Elsayed, Ahmed, 2020. "Migration Shocks and Housing: Short-Run Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan," IZA Discussion Papers 13969, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Refugees; Forced migration; Middle east;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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