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 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!