Outcomes for Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees in Low and Middle-Income Countries

The paper takes stock of the growing quantitative literature on outcomes for the forciblydisplaced in low- and middle-income countries, where 85 percent of refugees and nearly all internally displacedpersons live. The main takeaway is that forced dis- placement research has now become a full-fledged sub-fieldof the migration literature: it addresses the same questions of economic and social integration, returns, and the impactof conditions and policies in the destination country. Yet, the specificity of the sub-field lies in the analysis ofmigration of a particularly vulnerable population because of the forced selection into displacement and because thoseforcibly displaced have experienced shocks before and during displacement, including the loss of physical assets, humancapital, and mental health.