RAPID: Theorizing Refugees and Local Labor Markets

East Carolina University, Greenville NC

Investigators

Abstract

Large scale refugee flows are often accompanied by public disagreements over the effects of refugees on host societies. Typically, there are sharp divisions between those who view refugees as social burdens and those who see potential economic benefits. But recent events suggest that a more nuanced view, which would pay attention to variability in host contexts and refugee skills, is necessary to understand why refugee settlement is less contentious in some situations than in others. In the research supported by this RAPID award, one aspect of local context will be examined in depth: the roles refugees play in local labor markets. The researchers ask: When might refugee settlement be an economic stimulus rather than an economic drain? And is economic stimulus sufficient to counterbalance perceptions of social burden? Answering these questions will help to refine international migration theory with regard to national labor policies and humanitarian positions. It will also allow the development of improved policy for refugee incorporation in Europe and the United States. The research will be carried out by East Carolina University anthropologists, Dr. Christine B. Avenarius and Dr. David Griffith. They will focus data collection on labor markets in three rural regions in Germany during the summer of 2016, the second summer of large scale Middle Eastern refugee flows into Europe. The researchers will employ a mix of social science methodologies including in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and social network analysis with employers, town leaders, and refugees. Researchers will also collect media reports as background for local-level understandings. Findings from this research will serve as a baseline for a larger, multi-year study of Middle Eastern refugees settling throughout Europe.