Inclusive Refugee-Hosting in Uganda Improves Local Development and Prevents Public Backlash
Large arrivals Aof refugees raise concerns about potential tensions with host communities, particularly if refugees are viewed as an out-group competing for limited material resources and crowding out public services. To address this concern, calls...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/865171648041399885/Inclusive-Refugee-Hosting-in-Uganda-Improves-Local-Development-and-Prevents-Public-Backlash http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37209 |
Summary: | Large arrivals Aof refugees raise
concerns about potential tensions with host communities,
particularly if refugees are viewed as an out-group
competing for limited material resources and crowding out
public services. To address this concern, calls have
increased to allocate humanitarian aid in ways that (also)
benefit host communities. This study empirically tests
whether the presence of refugees in Uganda (one of the
largest refugee-hosting countries) has improved public
service delivery, and consequently, dampened potential
social conflict. The data combines geospatial information
on refugee settlements with unique longitudinal data on
primary and secondary schools, road density, health clinics,
and health utilization. This study reports two key findings.
First, particularly after the 2014 arrival of over 1 million
South Sudanese refugees, host communities with greater
levels of refugee presence experienced substantial
improvements in local development. Second, using public
opinion data, we find no evidence that refugee presence is
associated with more negative (or positive) attitudes
towards migrants or migration policy. |
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