Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Turkey faces an increase in anti-refugee sentiment as a result of ongoing economic downturn and global rise of populism, which fuels xenophobia. It is important to highlight that if refugees are integrated economically and perceived as productive members of the society, the anti-refugee narrative will be weakened. Although a large number of studies have examined refugee issues, most of them focus on social and cultural integration rather than economic dimensions. This paper addresses the questions of the extent to which Syrian refugees are significantly economically integrated, as well as the factors and conditions that facilitate economic integration. The hypothesis of this study claims that refugee characteristics such as language skills, human capital, and demographic features affect refugees’ ability to integrate. Besides, host country factors including labor market conditions and legal framework have the impact on refugees’ economic integration.