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Naohiko Omata
Today, World Refugee Day, Dr Naohiko Omata has written a blog for the Oxford Department of International Development about his research into refugee economies. The RSC’s Humanitarian Innovation Project is currently studying the economic activities of South Sudanese, Somali, and Congolese refugees in Kenya, using the Kakuma camp and the city of Nairobi as primary sites. “Although the research is still in progress”, he writes, “our preliminary observations indicate interesting variation in their economic outcomes. The findings demonstrate the importance of the surrounding contexts for refugees’ economic success.”
As he states, “many past attempts to promote [refugee] self-reliance have met with limited success. One possible reason for this failure that we should consider is a lack of systematic understanding of the differences in refugees’ economic capacities.”
He argues that we need more research into the determinants of economic success among refugees.
Read the blog here >>
The blog also appears on the Oxford University Press blog here >>
