This paper examines how the mass return of refugees can shape conflict dynamics in their home communities. It focuses on the large-scale repatriation of Afghan refugees following the sudden reintroduction of “Maximum Pressure” sanctions on Iran in 2018, which severely...
JDC Literature Review
Refugee Return and Conflict: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
This study examines the impact of refugee return on conflict dynamics by assessing the causal effect of a large-scale cash assistance program for Afghan returnees from Pakistan. Initiated due to the expiration of refugees’ Proof of Registration (PoR) cards in June...
Forced Migration and Social Cohesion: Evidence from the 2015/16 Mass Inflow in Germany
This paper investigates the impact of the 2015/16 large-scale refugee arrivals on social cohesion in Germany. During this period, over one million asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, and the Western Balkans arrived in the country, doubling the population of...
South-south refugee movements: Do pull factors play a role?
This paper examines the impact of destination country characteristics on south-south refugee movements between 2004 and 2019.
More is Better: Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees
This paper examines the impact of cash assistance provided to Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan on household outcomes post-return. Between 2016 and 2018, UNHCR assisted more than 458,000 documented Afghan refugees who returned from Pakistan. Between July 2016...
Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2023
The 2024 Global Trends report presents the most recent official statistics on refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless people, and returned refugees for the year 2023. The data included in the report is sourced from governments, non-governmental organizations, and UNHCR.
Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023: Internal Displacement and Food Insecurity
The 2023 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) presents global figures for internal displacement due to conflict and violence and disasters. This year’s report also includes a special section on the intersecting dynamics and consequences of displacement and food insecurity.
The labor market reintegration of returned refugees in Afghanistan
This paper investigates the labor market outcomes of returned refugees in Afghanistan. The authors examine the factors influencing the labor market outcomes of returned refugees compared to non-migrants, and in particular, whether the returnees’ migration and return...
Can Communities Take Charge? The Assessment of Learning Outcomes and Social Effects of Community-Based Education: A Randomized Field Experiment in Afghanistan
This report presents the Phase Two results for the Assessment of Learning Outcomes and Social Effects of Community-Based Education in Afghanistan (ALSE) project. ALSE is a multiyear, mixed-methods set of randomized controlled trials that assess strategies to improve...
Living Conditions and Settlement Decisions of Recent Afghan Returnees: Findings from a 2018 Phone Survey of Afghan Returnees and UNHCR data
More than 2 million displaced Afghans have returned to Afghanistan between 2014 and 2016, the majority from Pakistan, including over half a million registered refugees who returned under UNHCR’s voluntary return program. This report describes and analyzes the living...