Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Host and refugee populations: cooperation in a fragmented society

1402
Lebanon is currently hosting around one million refugees from the war in Syria – and given longstanding tensions between the two countries, the question of whether the refugees and their hosts can live harmoniously is one of great policy interest. This column reports the results of a pilot study that aims to measure cooperation between the native and refugee populations.

In a nutshell

There is evidence that Lebanon’s host population is less willing to contribute to the public good when sharing with refugees.

Lack of cooperation between natives and refugees could be a barrier to the objective of ensuring a decent living for displaced populations in their host communities.

Interventions aimed at increasing trust and cooperation between hosts and refugees would help to reduce ‘own-group biases’ and increase public good provision, thus improving the wellbeing of both refugees and their host communities.

In 2018, the global population of forcibly displaced people stood at a record high 70.8 million, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR, 2018). Syrians continued to be the largest forcibly displaced population, with 13 million people displaced, including 6.7 million refugees, the majority of whom are hosted by neighbouring countries.

Lebanon is one of the largest hosts of refugees from the conflict, with almost one million Syrians in 2018, making it the country with the highest density of refugees in the world.

The relationship between Lebanon and Syria has always been very strained. Thus, an important issue is whether, given the conflict and the displacement of Syrians, these two populations will cooperate. With many other populations around the world becoming displaced and hosted in potentially unwelcoming communities, this question is also of wider relevance.

We recently carried out a pilot study in Lebanon with Syrian refugees and Lebanese nationals to measure cooperation between the two groups. Participants were randomly assigned to Lebanese-only, Syrian-only or mixed groups, and they then played six rounds of a ‘public good game’ in randomly formed pairs (Drouvelis et al, 2019).

Public good games are used by economists and other social scientists to understand the behaviour of a group of individuals that are working towards a common goal while facing a social dilemma. In a public good game, participants are given a number of tokens and are asked to either keep them or invest them in a common account. The amount that gets invested in the common account is then shared equally among members of the group.

The group’s total payoff is maximised when everyone invests in the common account, but individually each member is better off keeping their tokens. This is the nature of the social dilemma that they face.

We used subtle differences in spoken Arabic to make salient the composition of the groups’ nationality to participants at the beginning of each session. Our main interest lay in the levels of cooperation that are sustained across and within the two groups and the extent to which individuals penalise others to enforce cooperation.

We find that, on average, contributions to the public good are significantly higher in homogeneous groups compared with mixed groups, suggesting a stronger ‘in-group’ versus ‘out-group’ cooperation effect. This result is driven by the hosts (Lebanese participants) who exhibit a stronger tendency to reduce contributions when in a mixed group. We also find a substantial degree of antisocial penalties, especially in Lebanese-only groups.

Moreover, our results show that for the Lebanese hosts, although as expected there is greater cooperation and reciprocity towards their own group, there is also a lower willingness to punish out-group defectors and even evidence of an inclination to punish in-group cooperators.

Overall, our findings indicate that mixing of the two groups leads to deterioration of the public good and makes individuals worse off.

Our study suggests that lack of cooperation between natives and refugees could be a barrier to the efforts of all those who are striving to ensure a decent living for displaced populations in host communities, and an important challenge faced by societies experiencing a large influx of refugees.

This highlights the challenge in many countries hosting refugees, where the host population feels anxious about competition in the labour market and congestion in public services. In some cases, there may be lack of support from hosts and, as a result, they might behave in an anti-social manner towards refugees.

Hence, it is important not only to support refugees in their protracted displacement but also to provide adequate help to the host communities to alleviate any economic and social pressures. Furthermore, interventions aimed at increasing intergroup trust and cooperation would help to reduce ‘own-group’ biases and increase public good provision, which are important for the wellbeing of both refugees and their host communities.

 Further reading

 Drouvelis, Michalis, Bilal Malaeb, Michael Vlassopoulos and Jackline Wahba (2019) ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented Society: Experimental Evidence on Syrian Refugees and Natives in Lebanon’, IZA DP 12858.

UNHCR, United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (2018) Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018.

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

Most read

Trust in Lebanon’s public institutions: a challenge for the new leadership

Lebanon’s new leadership confronts daunting economic challenges amid geopolitical tensions across the wider region. As this column explains, understanding what has happened over the past decade to citizens’ trust in key public institutions – parliament, the government and the armed forces – will be a crucial part of the policy response.

Qatarisation: playing the long game on workforce nationalisation

As national populations across the Gulf have grown and hydrocarbon reserves declined, most Gulf countries have sought to move to a more sustainable economic model underpinned by raising the share of citizens in the productive private sector. But, as this column explains, Qatar differs from its neighbours in several important ways that could render aggressive workforce nationalization policies counterproductive. In terms of such policies, the country should chart its own path.

Small businesses in the Great Lockdown: lessons for crisis management

Understanding big economic shocks like Covid-19 and how firms respond to them is crucial for mitigating their negative effects and accelerating the post-crisis recovery. This column reports evidence on how small and medium-sized enterprises in Tunisia’s formal business sector adapted to the pandemic and the lockdown – and draws policy lessons for when the next crisis hits.

Economic consequences of the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran

Over the decades, Iran has faced numerous devastating natural disasters, including the deadly 2003 Bam earthquake. This column reports evidence on the unexpected economic boost in Bam County and its neighbours after the disaster – the result of a variety of factors, including national and international aid, political mobilisation and the region’s cultural significance. Using data on the intensity of night-time lights in a geographical area, the research reveals how disaster recovery may lead to a surprising economic rebound.

The impact of climate change and resource scarcity on conflict in MENA

The interrelationships between climate change, food production, economic instability and violent conflict have become increasingly relevant in recent decades, with climate-induced economic shocks intensifying social and political tensions, particularly in resource-constrained regions like MENA. This column reports new evidence on the impact of climate change on economic and food production outcomes – and how economic stability, agricultural productivity and shared water resources affect conflict. While international aid, economic growth and food security reduce the likelihood of conflict, resource scarcity and shared water basins contribute to high risks of conflict.

Qatar’s pursuit of government excellence: promises and pitfalls

As Qatar seeks to make the transition from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a diversified, knowledge-based economy, ‘government excellence’ has been identified as a key strategic objective. This column reports what government effectiveness means in terms of delivery of public services, digitalisation of services, and control of corruption – and outlines the progress made to date on these development priorities and what the country needs to do to meet its targets.

A Macroeconomic Accounting of Unemployment in Jordan:  Unemployment is mainly an issue for adults and men

Since unemployment rates in Jordan are higher among young people and women than other groups, unemployment is commonly characterised as a youth and gender issue. However, the majority of the country’s unemployed are adults and men. This suggests that unemployment is primarily a macroeconomic issue challenge for the entire labour market. The appropriate response therefore is coordinated fiscal, monetary, structural and institutional policies, while more targeted measures can still benefit specific groups.

The green energy transition: employment pathways for MENA

The potential employment impacts of green and renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa are multifaceted and promising. As this column explains, embracing renewable energy technologies presents an opportunity for the region to diversify its economy, mitigate the possible negative impacts of digitalisation on existing jobs, reduce its carbon footprint and create significant levels of employment across a variety of sectors. Green energy is not just an environmental imperative but an economic necessity.

Tunisia’s energy transition: the key role of small businesses

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a critical role in Tunisia’s economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment. As this column explains, they are also essential for advancing the country’s ambitions to make a successful transition from reliance on fossil fuels to more widespread use of renewable energy sources. A fair distribution of the transition’s benefits across all regions and communities will secure a future where MSMEs thrive as leaders in a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Tunisia.

Global value chains, wages and skills in MENA countries

The involvement of firms in production across different countries or regions via global value chains (GVCs) can make a significant contribution to economic development, including improved labour market outcomes. This column highlights the gains from GVC participation in terms of employment quality in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. Given the high unemployment, sticky wages and wide skill divides that are common in the MENA region, encouraging firms to participate in GVCs is a valuable channel for raising living standards.