Economic Conditions of Displacement

In a world of a global refugee crisis of more than 60 million people living either as refugees or internally displaced mostly in poor host societies, we need knew knowledge about what kind of economies that this leads to. Based on our case studies from different displacement situation in Uganda (North and Southwest), Liberia, Eastern DR Congo and Zimbabwe, we define the economic relationship between refugees and poor host communities as displacement that generates an economy of survival and productivity for some, but has a negative effect for other. What our research shows is that in refugee situations in Africa you would think that refugees unable to return home would be ultimate losers, but this is not always the case. Rather, to understand what happens in these economic relationships we must reflect on how patterns of inclusion and exclusion emerge, how the displaced population defines their livelihood strategies, and what effects this has for the formal and informal labour market conditions in local host communities. While forced displacement is undoubtedly traumatic, our research in Nakivale in Southwestern Uganda and in Liberia on the border to Côte d'Ivoire suggest that it can be a transformative experience, opening a new set of social and economic opportunities for certain groups of refugees, whereas others do not have access to similar opportunities. For example, in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, it is of huge significance for research as well as policy to observe the diversity of experiences that exists. This can be illustrated by the experience of the following three groups. First, the relative affluence of some in the Somali community, thanks to access to credit through the Hawala system. Second, the relative marginalisation of some poor local Ugandan farmers who face fierce economic competition from refugees who are subsidized by free benefits from humanitarian agencies. Third, the opportunity for reliable access to cheap seasonal labour that the refugee settlement represents for Ugandan banana farmers with larger plots of land in a certain distance from the settlement - close enough for refugees to travel there on foot to work for them, but so far away that their land is not very likely to be expropriated to give room for even more refugees. Similar findings were also made in the other cases we have studied, and we believe that our findings show how dynamic these interactions are and that they produce relative winners and losers. What this means for international assistance is that it must become much more sensitive to the plight and hardship of poor host communities and that their needs not only must also become a target for humanitarian and development interventions, but also that the international community must seek to avoid unintended harmful side-effects for local populations when support is given to refugee settlements. The research carried out in this project is very timely because as longs as the wars that produce refugees continue, the local integrative capacity that has been remarkably high for decades will reach a point of overload. The consequence of not handling this is a severe worsening of the current refugee situation, and a more dangerous world for all of us. This project does not provide all the answers, but it is a starting point for critical conversations about the relationship between refugees, poor host communities, and what the international community could do to design more holistic approaches that not only more systematically targets both sides of this equation, but also considers the variation that exists within each group. Based on a combination of structural background factors such as education, economic assets, and networks and personal skills some have a much higher chance of ending up in the group of relative winners from this economy of displacement than others. This will never become an even playing field, but our research at the least shows some of the factors that must be taken into consideration to avoid reaching the tipping-point of local overload where poor host communities simple will not accept to admit refugees anymore.

The conditions of displacement consist of a multitude of transformations that have a negative effect for a number of people affected while simultaneously generate an economy of survival and productivity for others. Understanding this requires a broad inte llectual reflection on how the dynamics and patterns of inclusion and exclusion emerges, how the displaced population define their own livelihood strategies in the new environment and what effect this has for the formal and the informal labour market that exists in local host communities. This research proposal seeks to contribute to the state of the art of displacement and refugee studies through a series of case-studies by critically and empirically examining the conditions of displacement in Northern U ganda (Acholiland), Southwestern Uganda (Nakivale), Eastern DRC (Lubero, North Kivu), Liberia (Grand Gedeh) and Zimbabwe (Bulawayo). The following main research questions will be cross cutting issues addressed by the five case studies: - What determines t he extent of participation of displaced people in the social and economic spheres of the host communities? - Who are the "losers" and "winners" among the displaced people as well as the host communities in terms of assets and expenditures? - What type of coping mechanisms and livelihood strategies are adopted by displaced populations and to what extent does this influence the host communities? - To what extent has humanitarian assistance provided to the displaced population brought changes in existing lab or and commodities markets in the host communities? A mixed-methods approach is proposed with both qualitative and quantitative data collection where, the qualitative methods informs and supports the quantitative and econometric analysis. Drawing from a comparative analysis of the proposed case studies, the project aims to provide policy recommendations on how to promote humanitarian policy with a clear focus on lessons for future humanitarian assistance.