WP GLM|LIC Working Paper No. 7 | March 2016 The Labor Market Impacts of Forced Migration Isabel Ruiz (University of Oxford) Carlos Vargas-Silva (COMPAS, University of Oxford) GLM|LIC Working Paper No. 7 | March 2016 The Labor Market Impacts of Forced Migration Isabel Ruiz (University of Oxford) Carlos Vargas-Silva (COMPAS, University of Oxford) GLM|LIC c/o IZA – Institute of Labor Economics Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 5–9 53113 Bonn, Germany Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-510 Email:
[email protected] GLM|LIC Working Paper No. 7 | March 2016 ABSTRACT The Labor Market Impacts of Forced Migration* During the 1990s the Kagera region of Tanzania experienced a forced migration shock. A series of geographical barriers led to a higher concentration of forced migrants in some parts of the region relative to others, resulting in a natural experiment. Using panel data (pre and post forced migration shock), we find that greater exposure to the refugee shock resulted in Tanzanians having a lower likelihood of working outside the household as employees. However, employees more affected by the shock had a higher probability of being in professional occupations and being part of a pensions program. JEL Classification: F22, J61, O15 Keywords: forced migration, refugees, labor markets, Tanzania Corresponding author: Carlos Vargas-Silva COMPAS University of Oxford 58 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 6QS United Kingdom E-mail:
[email protected] * This work was supported by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Growth and Labor Markets in Low Income Countries Programme (GLM | LIC).