Overview

Displacement is at an all-time high and is projected to climb in the coming decades. There is limited evidence, however, about how to best respond. How do we effectively strengthen outcomes for displaced and host communities? What kinds of interventions can help displaced populations access employment, integrate into local labor markets, and become self-reliant? How do we scale impactful solutions?

The IPA and J-PAL Displaced Livelihoods Initiative, with support from the IKEA Foundation, is building the evidence base on these questions. Through a new webinar series, IPA and J-PAL will profile results from completed and ongoing projects on displaced livelihoods, aimed at enabling informed policy and programmatic decision-making.

Recordings will be available approximately 1-3 business days after each event. For more information on each webinar and registration, please see below.

For more on the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative and its studies, see this page.

Webinar 5: The Potential for Digital Livelihoods Among Displaced Populations: Emerging Research from Kenya and Nigeria

Displaced populations worldwide face persistent barriers to local employment, including legal restrictions, lost networks, and unrecognized qualifications. Digital pathways are increasingly viewed as a livelihood solution for the over 117.8 million people displaced by the end of 2025.

This webinar presents new evidence on the potential of remote work and digital freelancing as a livelihood pathway for displaced populations. Drawing on a randomized evaluation in Kenya and exploratory work in Nigeria, the panel will examine awareness of remote work among refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), the barriers that limit their participation, and the training and support needed to make it viable.

Join us for the fifth session of the IPA and J-PAL Displaced Livelihoods series, held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly's High-Level Week, which this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development. Speakers will discuss what these two contexts reveal about the promise and limitations of digital work for displaced populations:

• Emma Smith (Georgetown University) will present the results of an RCT in Kenya assessing a freelance training program for refugees and host community members.
• Toyin Olowogbon (Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Empowerment (CSAE)) will present findings from an exploratory study in Nigeria on the existing potential of digital opportunities.
• Pablo Ariel Acosta (World Bank) will discuss the implications of the findings in a broader policy setting and address how this evidence can inform the World Bank as well as policymakers globally.

The session will take place on September 24, 2026 at 11:30 AM EDT / 4:30 PM WAT and will cover these studies from Kenya and Nigeria and their implications for practice. To attend the webinar, please register here.

Webinar 4: Contact in the Workplace and Social Cohesion: Experimental Evidence from Uganda

Social cohesion plays a crucial role in promoting growth and development, particularly in diverse societies. Yet, large-scale forced displacement can strain this cohesion by altering social dynamics within host communities. In 2025, the UNHCR reported over 123.2 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 36.8 million refugees.

This webinar presented new experimental evidence from Uganda, the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, on how workplace interactions between refugees and local workers can foster social cohesion. Drawing on a randomized controlled trial, the study explores how contact in the workplace reduces explicit biases and increases positive behaviors. During the webinar, the following speakers discussed the findings, mechanisms, and policy implications of this randomized controlled trial on employment and integration in Uganda’s locally owned and managed firms:

• Mariajose Silva-Vargas, PhD (J-PAL Europe / LISER) presented the experimental evidence of contact in the workplace and social cohesion.
• Robert Hakiza (Young African Refugees for Integral Development - YARID) discussed the application of the results and the implications of future work in this topic.

Please see below for a recording of this webinar, which took place on November 20, 2025. Thank you to our speakers for such a thoughtful discussion!

Webinar 3: Emerging Evidence on Business Mentorship in Uganda: The Case of Re:BUiLD

Microentrepreneurship is a common form of employment for refugees, including among the 150,000 refugees in Kampala, Uganda. However, they often face constraints to business growth such as obstacles to borrowing, inexperience, or a lack of managerial capital and networks. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) recently completed a randomized evaluation measuring the impact of a cash grant and business mentorship program aimed at helping refugees overcome social and economic barriers to entrepreneurship. This new research is shedding light on the economic and social cohesion outcomes of this model. Read more about this research in the working paper and on our project page.

Emerging evidence from the Re:BUiLD program highlights the outcomes of business mentorship relative to cash alone. In our third webinar of the series, speakers examined the results, mechanisms, and policy implications of a randomized controlled trial evaluating this intervention:

• Thomas Ginn (Center for Global Development) presented the recent results, showcasing the impact of business mentorship and grants compared to cash alone on business outcomes and attitudes.
• David Martin Musiime (International Rescue Committee) discussed the IRC’s application of the results and the implications of future work in this topic.

Please see below for a recording of this webinar, which took place on July 23, 2025. Thank you to our speakers for such a thoughtful discussion!

Webinar 2: Emerging Evidence from Syrian Refugee Life Study

Many countries have struggled to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis in a way that provides for refugees’ human needs and ensures cohesive integration into host communities. Though many policies and programs focus on immediate aid and short-term goals, individual refugee recovery and the stability of host communities are best observed on a longer time horizon.

Emerging research insights shed light on a subsidized housing assistance program for refugees in Jordan to assess its impact on their economic outcomes, psychological well-being, long-term migration decisions, and social integration into host communities. In our second webinar of the series, speakers presented on contributions to this emerging evidence:

• Abdulrazzak Tamim, Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley, discussed the emerging insights from the study and paper, "Housing Subsidies for Syrian Refugees in Jordan."
• Theresa Beltramo, Senior Economist, UNHCR MENA Bureau, spoke to the policy implications that follow these insights.

This webinar took place on April 22, 2025. A recording will be posted to this page soon. Thank you to all of our attendees and our presenters!

Webinar 1: Emerging Evidence on Refugee Employment in Cox’s Bazar

After fleeing Myanmar in 2017, today nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Now the world’s largest stateless population, the Rohingyas in Bangladesh are barred from public education and formal work, relying almost entirely on humanitarian assistance. Strong evidence on how best to support the basic needs of this population, let alone provide for sustainable livelihoods, is limited.

New research is shedding light on the impacts of employment for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. In our first webinar of the series, our speakers presented their own contributions to this emerging evidence:

• Reshmaan Hussam presented her recent work on how employment affects the mental well-being of men, women, and their households.
• Fatima Zahra discussed her ongoing research on the link between Rohingya fathers’ employment, psychosocial well-being, and engagement with their children during early childhood development.

UNHCR Economist Md Iltemas Amin Adee then provided commentary on the policy and practice implications of this research.

Please see below for a recording of this webinar, which took place on April 22, 2025. Thank you to our speakers for such a thoughtful discussion!