The Synthesis Note below has been updated to focus specifically on how PSD can improve the economic prospects of forcibly-displaced persons (FDPs), in particular refugees, internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and the communities that host them. The accompanying resources on this Knowledge Page will be updated in early 2022 to reflect the emphasis on FDPs.
DCED publication 
External publication
Summary of key research on using private sector development to assist refugees and internally displaced persons.
Article summarising the role of global business in supporting refugees, based on CGDEV’s 2017 research study.
A note providing clarity on the definitions of “refugee” and “migrant”, and advice on their correct usage.
The role of the private sector in refugee and migration contexts
- Empowering migrants and communities: Private Sector Engagement for Inclusive Sustainable Development, IOM and UNDP, 2023
- Private Sector Initiatives in Forced Displacement Contexts: Constraints and Opportunities for Market-based Approaches, IFC, 2021
- Private Sector and Refugees: Pathways to Scale, IFC/Bridgespan, 2019
- Global Business and Refugee Crises: A Framework for Sustainable Engagement, Center for Global Development, 2017
- The contribution of the private sector to solutions for displacement, Forced Migration Review, 2016
- Humanitarian crises, emergency preparedness and response: the role of business and the private sector, ODI, 2014
Integrating migration and development in donor and development agencies
- Making waves: implications of the irregular migration and refugee situation on ODA spending and practices in Europe, ECDPM, 2017
- Migration and development: a role for the World Bank Group, World Bank, 2016
- Helping refugees build a future, BMZ, 2016
- Mind the gap: bringing migration into development partnerships and vice versa, BMZ/Migration Policy Institute, 2018
- How we can fix our failing refugee system, talk by Alexander Betts at TED2016
As outlined by IDMC (2015), the root causes of migration are multi-faceted and context-specific. Proposals to increase economic opportunities in countries-of-origin and to mitigate the effects of climate change are discussed in the publications listed below.
Livelihood opportunities and interventions in countries of origin
- Self-employment and migration, World Bank, 2019
- Do Cash Transfers Affect Migration? World Bank, 2018
- Does rural development aid reduce international migration?, 2018 paid access
- Can Development Assistance Deter Emigration? CGD, 2018
- The impact of livelihood opportunities and interventions on migration, DFID, 2018
Diaspora engagement to promote national development
Managing environment-related migration and mitigating climate change
- Migration influenced by environmental change in Africa: A systematic review of empirical evidence, Demographic Research, 2019
- Preparing for internal climate migration, World Bank, 2018
- Climate change, migration and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ODI, 2016
- Climate Change and Migration Issues in the Pacific, ILO, 2014
Typical approaches to promote economic opportunities of refugees in host countries and communities include the development of existing markets (e.g. in refugee camps), livelihood support and measures to enable the uptake of wage labour. In addition to the resources below, the International Chamber of Commerce runs a portal to showcase public-private sector collaborations that integrate refugees into the global economy.
As many host countries of refugees are also fragile, or at increased risk of fragility, resources on PSD in fragile and conflict-affected environments may provide additional guidance.
- Paving the way for better jobs and improving livelihoods for refugees and host communities in Arua, Uganda. An Approach to Inclusive Market Systems for Refugees and Host Communities, ILO, 2020.
- Evaluation of Market Systems Development Interventions for Refugee and Host Communities in Jijiga, Ethiopia, ILO, 2019
- BEAM Webinar: Making markets work for refugees, BEAM Exchange, 2018
- Refugee markets brief: the power of markets to support refugee economic opportunities in West Nile, Uganda, Mercy Corps, 2018
- Kakuma as a Marketplace: A consumer and market study of a refugee camps and town in northwest Kenya, IFC, 2018
- Guide to market-based livelihood interventions for refugees, ILO/UNHCR, 2017
- Building Livelihood Opportunities for Refugee Populations: Lessons from Past Practice, Migration Policy Institute, 2016
- Refugee livelihoods in protracted displacement, ODI, 2017
- Zambia refugees economies: livelihoods and challenges, UNHCR, 2017
- Vocational skills development and migration. Working tool for practitioners in development cooperation, including humanitarian aid, SDC, May 2020.
- Using Trade Preferences to Support Refugees and their Hosts, CGDEV, 2019
- The Economic and Fiscal Effects of Granting Refugees Formal Labour Market Access, CGD, 2018
- Migration as an opportunity: evidence of labour migration initiatives, ODI, 2018
- Are refugees located near urban job opportunities? Centre for Global Development, 2018
- The Labour Market Impacts of Forced Migration (Burundi and Tanzania), GLMLIC, 2017
- Hiring refugees – What are the opportunities and challenges for employers?, UNHCR, 2016
Photo credits: UN Women/Joe Saade (Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons), Sudipto Das.