Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Much of the recent debate on refugee resettlement centers on the perceived unintended consequences of refugees and policies that can help them integrate into local communities. However, there is sparse credible evidence on the direct and indirect costs associated with refugee resettlement. This paper contributes to a limited literature on the externalities of refugee integration, providing evidence on how this population affects the behavior and performance of incumbent students. I leverage natural variation in the share of refugees within schools and across grades to estimate the causal effect of having refugee peers on the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores of non-refugee students. I also examine the refugee peer effects on non-academic outcomes such as student absenteeism and disciplinary incidents. On average, estimates suggest that doubling the grade-level share of refugee students is associated with an 0.01 standard deviation increase in ELA test scores. While I find no average refugee peer effects on Math test scores, using nonlinear-in-means specifications I find negative peer effects among high-achieving students. Lastly, I find no average effect on student absenteeism and disciplinary incidents.