The impact of refugee experiences on education: evidence from Burundi

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that displacement is one of the channels through which conflict impacts schooling outcomes. However, there is scarce evidence on this impact for those who are displaced internationally (i.e. refugees). We use data from Burundi, a country which experienced large-scale conflict-led emigration and substantial post-war refugee return, to explore differences in schooling outcomes between returnees, defined as individuals who were displaced to a neighbouring country and later returned home, and stayees, defined as individuals who never left the country during the conflict (i.e. those who were never displaced and those who were only displaced internally). Our results suggest that, controlling for pre-war characteristics and cohort effects, returning refugees are more likely to have finished primary school than their contemporaries who never left the country. We also find that an additional year spent as a refugee while of schooling age is associated with a four to six percentage point increase in the likelihood of finishing primary school. JEL Classification: F22, D74, I25

The Impact of Forced Displacement on Host Communities: A Review of the Empirical Literature in Economics

“…The literature on the impacts of forced displacement on the displaced themselves was very limited until recently (see the reviews by Kondylis andMueller 2014 andVargas-Silva 2013) but has also started to grow in the last years (e.g. Gimenez-Nadal, Jose Ignacio, José Alberto Molina, and Edgar Silva-Quintero 2018;Fransen, Vargas-Silva, and Siegel 2018). The results of this literature are linked to our review as the impacts on the financial assets, human capital and psychological well-being of forced migrants will in return influence how they impact the consumer and labor markets of the host community.…”

Second Quarterly Digest on Forced Displacement

“…On the other hand, the impact of violence on boys' outcomes persisted over time, most likely because they tended to work more and longer hours several years after the conflict. Fransen et al (2018) find higher completion rates among Burundian refugees who went to Tanzania than IDPs who remained in Burundi. These differences can be explained by differences in education facilities: whereas in IDP camps they were generally non-existent or disorganized and largely funded by the Burundian government, education facilities in the refugee camps in Tanzania were organized and well-funded by the UNHCR.…”

“…Piper et al (2020) find that, after years of displacement in Kenya, literacy levels are far lower in the refugee camps (among refugee children from South Sudan and Sudan) than for nationals across the country, and amongst the lowest in large scale studies conducted in lower middleincome countries. Fransen et al (2018) find that host community children in Tanzania had lower primary completion rates than Burundian refugees in the country, who had access to UNHCRfunded schools. These were established in parallel to the Tanzanian national system and followed the Burundian curriculum and language of instruction with the goal of facilitating the return of these refugees to Burundi.…”

“…Forced displacement impacts education outcomes for three main groups -internally displaced persons (IDPs) who remain within fragile or conflict-affected countries; refugees who are displaced across international borders, most frequently in neighboring countries; and host communities in which IDPs or refugees settle. Fransen et al (2018) observe that national primary enrollment rates of IDPs fell by close to 15 percent as a result of the 1993 conflict in Burundi. Similarly, school attendance for internally displaced boys and girls was significantly impacted in Timor-Leste in the immediate aftermath of a wave of conflict in 1999 that resulted in mass displacement and destruction of homes and schools (Justino et al, 2013).…”

“…Future analyses to guide policy should also be differentiated along these groups. For instance, Fransen et al (2018) show that the access rate to education in IDP camps in Burundi was less than 50 percent compared to 90 percent in the refugee camps set up in rural Tanzania for Burundian refugees, and upon return to Burundi, refugees were more likely to have completed primary school than the IDPs who stayed behind. Considering that IDPs account for over 57 percent of forcibly displaced people (UNHCR, 2020a), it is critical that both humanitarian and development organizations remain engaged during conflict to ensure continuity of education for IDPs and retention of national capacity to deliver education services.…”