Labor Market Dynamics, Refugee Integration, and Social Cohesion in Conflict and Displacement Contexts

This doctoral research explores the consequences of forced displacement and dynamics around refugees’ and hosts’ interaction in the labor market, as well as the building of social cohesion in complex contexts. The findings show that hosts experience either positive or null impacts on their welfare and labor markets outcomes when hosting refugees, while some are able to seize the opportunities arising from an increase in demand for goods and services. The issuance of work permits to refugees, in turn, increases formal wage earnings for host workers and drives those who can cope to look for more stable forms of employment or upgrade their skills, albeit some vulnerable groups face more challenges. Moreover, perceptions of labor market competition increase hosts’ prejudice against refugees when they share the same occupation, while refugees do not display the same attitude. It suggests that prejudice against refugees may be driven by concerns related to a perceived loss of livelihood, instead of more general sociotropic factors. Lastly, the impact evaluation of a Community-Driven Development program in eastern DRC, a conflict-affected region, shows null results on social cohesion, underlying the challenges of building cohesion in conflict settings. The thesis concludes that while hosting refugees bring opportunities, it also warn against distributional effects. In addition, the research shows that building cohesion in conflict areas remains a tedious task, and that existing approaches show clear limitations that need to be reevaluated.