• Social Issues
    Apr 18, 2021

    Where to Settle? How Syrian Refugees Choose their Place of Residence in Lebanon

    • Daniel Garrote Sánchez
    Where to Settle? How Syrian Refugees Choose their Place of Residence in Lebanon
    Syrian refugees in Lebanon are widely portrayed as a broad, uniform group. However, results from an in-depth quantitative survey in the cities of Halba, Saida, and Zahle highlight the significant differences in the profiles of refugees across the country’s municipalities. These differences appear as refugees choose where to settle in Lebanon, a decision that varies depending on their socioeconomic characteristics and those of the different localities. In general, refugees tend to settle closer to the border but are also attracted to areas that have higher income generating opportunities. Social networks also play a key role in choosing where to be located, leading to clusters of Syrians from different regions of origin in each Lebanese city. The main reason behind choosing a location varies from city to city, ranging from networks in Zahle, proximity to the border in Halba, and job opportunities in Saida. Understanding the different profiles of refugees in each area can help tailor policies and make a better use of the available skills in the local economies.
    Daniel Garrote Sánchez contributed to this project while being a senior researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. He currently works as a labor market consultant at the World Bank. His areas of work include economic migration, labor markets and the task content of jobs, conflict and forced displacement, and development of lagging regions. Prior to joining LCPS, he served as a labor migration consultant for the World Bank and the Ministry of Labor of Saudi Arabia. He also worked for six years as an economic researcher at the Central Bank of Spain covering a range of macroeconomic topics such as fiscal policy, labor markets, and deleveraging. Garrote Sánchez holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Sign up for our Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter!