On May 24, IPA's Chief Research and Policy Officer Radha Rajkotia moderated the fourth webinar in the series, Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement: From Research to Policy Making, to discuss findings from the latest research on forced displacement. This webinar focused on a study on the impact of access to work for Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.

Engaging in productive activities may yield benefits that go beyond earning a wage or income, such as improved psychosocial wellbeing. This study empirically tests this hypothesis among Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh. 745 individuals participated in the randomized study and were assigned to one among three groups: a 'work-task' group which was compensated for engaging in a small task, a ‘cash’ group that received a cash equivalent without needing to work, and a ‘comparison’ group that did not receive either. Findings show that individuals who were engaged in this activity had substantially better psychosocial well-being than individuals who only received cash.

Speakers

• Erin Kelley, Economist, Development Impact Evaluation Unit, World Bank
• Masud Rahman, Economist, UNHCR
• Sandra V. Rozo, Research Economist, World Bank
• Sailesh Tiwari, Senior Economist, World Bank

Moderator

• Radha Rajkotia, Chief Research and Policy Officer, Innovations for Poverty Action

This webinar was the fourth in the series Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement: From Research to Policy Making, which disseminates findings from quantitative research on forced displacement and discusses its implications on programming and policy. The series provides a platform for disseminating research that is targeted and forward-looking and that will help practitioners and policymakers design and deliver effective forced displacement programs.

This webinar series was organized by the FCDO-UNHCR-WB Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement program, Innovations for Poverty Action, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, the World Bank Development Impact Evaluation unit, the Center for Global Development, the International Rescue Committee Airbel Impact Lab, the World Food Programme and UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti.