How to cope with a refugee population? Evidence from Uganda

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa hosts a large proportion of the world’s refugees, raising concerns about the consequences on host countries. Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and is praised for its progressive refugee policy. We analyze the effects of hosting refugees on material welfare in Uganda, relying on longitudinal data and an instrumental variable approach. Our results indicate that Ugandan households benefit from living close to refugee settlements. In contrast to the existing literature, those initially involved in subsistence agriculture benefit the most. The effect seems to be driven by the few households able to move from subsistence agriculture to commercial farming and to some extent, to wage employment.