Is a refugee crisis a housing crisis? Only if housing supply is unresponsive (Sept 2020)

• Is a refugee crisis a housing crisis? Only if housing supply is unresponsive

• By Sandra V. Rozoa and Micaela Sviatschib. Published online on 25 September 2020 in the Journal of Development Economics

• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102563

• Abstract:

  • What are the impacts of large inflows of refugees on refugee-hosting housing markets? We examine the effects of the arrival of 1.3 million Syrian refugees on the housing expenditures and income of Jordanian nationals. For this purpose, we exploit that refugees disproportionately locate around the three largest refugee camps after the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Larger refugee inflows are reflected in two main trends: higher housing expenditures of all Jordanians and increments in rental income of individuals that own real estate property. The effects are explained by the large spike in rental prices that resulted from the higher demand for housing units and the unresponsive housing supply in refugee-hosting areas.

• Keywords: Jordan, Syria, refugees, asylum, camps, rental prices, supply, demand