Research to expand formal labor market access for refugees underway

On World Refugee Day 2019, the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Refugees International announced a joint research initiative, in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, Western Union and the Tent Partnership for Refugees, to better understand the barriers refugees face when accessing formal labor markets and how businesses can act to help expand this access. 

The research will focus on formal labor market access (FLMA) in Kenya and Ethiopia to start, and will expand to two additional countries down the line. Previous CGD research has shown that restrictions on refugees that prevent them from formally entering the labor market have economic repercussions for host countries, including lower productivity, missed tax revenues, and lower incomes and living standards for the refugees themselves.

To learn more about this initiative, read coverage from Relief Web, Refugees International, and the IKEA Foundation website.