Refugee Economic Empowerment: Why It's A Great Opportunity For Jordan

Everyone’s talking about February’s London Donor Conference and the 10 billion dollars pledged by the international community to support the West Asia – North Africa region through the current refugee crisis.

But what does it all mean? 

Today, Jordan is hosting thousands of refugees, 655,000 of whom are Syrians registered with UNHCR. The refugee presence has increased pressure on water and energy resources, and caused overcrowding in schools and hospitals. So why are we talking about making job opportunities available for Syrian refugees? How could this be a good thing when unemployment in Jordan is already high?

In this video, our research fellows explore the benefits of giving Syrian refugees in Jordan the right to work, how the economics of that would work, and why this is an incredible opportunity for Jordan.