PRFDHR Seminar Series: Host and Refugee Communities in Bangladesh: Data and Policy, C Austin Davis

Like many communities in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, Bangladesh has accepted large numbers of refugees in recent years. This is an important moment for the Rohingya refugees; while they are safer in Bangladesh, their long-term wellbeing is likely to be determined by political and policy choices made in the next 1-5 years. Unfortunately, there is little systematic, long-term data available to guide these choices. A team at Yale is working to fill the gap through a major data collection initiative sponsored in part by the PRFDHR. Professor Davis will present preliminary results from this work, emphasizing the often countervailing effects on the economic lives of the host community, the economic and social consequences endured by refugees, and how each group perceives the other. We conclude with a discussion of how research can inform policy directed towards the wellbeing of both host and refugee communities.