The Psychosocial Value of Employment

Abstract

In settings where an individual's labor choices are constrained, the inability to work may generate psychosocial harm. This paper presents a causal estimate of the psychosocial value of employment in the Rohingya refugee camps of Bangladesh. We engage 745 individuals in a field experiment with three arms: (1) a control arm, (2) a weekly cash arm, and (3) a gainful employment arm, in which work is offered and individuals are paid weekly the approximate equivalent of that in the cash arm. We find that employment confers significant psychosocial benefits beyond the impacts of cash alone, with effects concentrated among males. The cash arm does not improve psychosocial wellbeing, despite the provision of cash at a weekly amount that is more than twice the amount held by recipients in savings at baseline. Consistent with these findings, we find that 66% of those in our work treatment are willing to forego cash payments to instead work for free. Our results have implications for social protection policies for the unemployed in low income countries and refugee populations globally.

PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of economic development interventions in humanitarian settings in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A mixed‐method systematic review

“…Hussam et al (2021) evaluated the benefits of employment opportunities for the Rohingya refugees of Myanmar.…”

“…The program's goal was to increase the resiliency of households, communities, and market systems to prepare for, cope with and recover from external shocks. Hussam et al (2021) evaluated the benefits of employment opportunities for the Rohingya refugees of Myanmar. Blattman and Annan (2016) evaluated the effect of Action on Armed Violence (AoAV) intensive agricultural training program on employment activities, income, and socio‐political integration in Liberia. …”

Life out of the Shadows: Impacts of Amnesties in the Lives of Refugees

“…Most of the available evidence focuses on humanitarian-based interventions such as cash transfers ( Özler et al 2021;Altinda ǧ and O'Connell 2023;Hızıro glu Ayg ün et al 2022;Moussa et al 2022), while few studies assess development-based programs. The only exceptions are Hussam et al (2021), who examine the mental health impacts of having a job for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and document positive effects, and Foged et al (2022), who study Danish policies to integrate refugees. They examine active labor market policies, welfare transfers, language training, and initial placement.…”