Understanding informal adaptive mechanisms, resilience, and agency among Syrian refugees working in the informal economies of Lebanon and Jordan

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Understanding informal adaptive mechanisms, resilience, and agency among Syrian refugees working in the informal economies of Lebanon and Jordan

Project Overview

Funded by the Ford Foundation, this 3-year project aims to understand the various adaptive mechanisms adopted by Syrian refugees to secure their livelihoods in the informal economy. It explores whether these informal adaptive mechanisms are tangible manifestations of refugee communities’ abilities to be resilient, adaptive and have agency to fend off the crisis they are facing and establish their functioning capacities to secure their livelihoods. To this end, five case studies were conducted in Lebanon and Jordan that focus on refugees’ adaptation experiences. The case studies were conducted among micro-entrepreneurs, tribal communities, agricultural workers, and females who head their households, and delve into how key dimensions, such as legality, temporality, connectedness, spatiality, and gender roles, influence refugees’ ability to adapt and secure their livelihoods in the informal economy.

Check out the full project overview, here.

Case Study Reports

Research report: Dynamics of Syrian refugees in Lebanon’s agriculture sector

Nur Turkmani, Economic Development Solutions

Kanj Hamade, Faculty of Agriculture, Lebanese University

Research report: Tribal networks and informal adaptive mechanisms of Syrian refugees: The case of the Bani Khalid tribe in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon

Paivi Miettunen, University of Helsinki

Mohammed Shunnaq, Yarmouk University

Research report: A gender lens on informal livelihoods in displacement: The case of Syrian refugee females as heads of households in the Bekaa Valley camps in Lebanon

Rouba Mhaissen, Independent Researcher

Osama Alaa Aldien, Independent Researcher

Research report: Under the radar? How Syrian refugee entrepreneurs adapt and operate in Lebanon’s informal economy

Ramzi Fathallah, Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut

Research report: Shadows to light: Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Jordan’s informal economy
Ramzi Fathallah, Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut

Other Publications and Outputs

Working paper: Exploring the dimensions and factors influencing refugees’ participation in the informal economy: The case of refugees from Syria in Lebanon and Jordan

Nabil Abdo, Independent Researcher

Rabih Jamil, Independent Researcher

Policy Brief: Addressing challenges faced by Syrian refugees working in the informal economy: Case studies from Lebanon and Jordan

Maysa Baroud, Project Coordinator, Refugee Research and Policy Program, IFI

Nour Zeidan, Researcher, Refugee Research and Policy Program, IFI

Webinar: The impact of the economic crisis on refugees & host communities in the informal economy in Lebanon

Infographic: Timeline of major policies influencing the livelihoods of Syrian refugees in Jordan

Infographic: Timeline of major policies influencing the livelihoods of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Special thanks to the project advisory committee, consisting of local and regional experts from among civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, research centers, and universities, for their time and feedback throughout the project. Their input was invaluable for the overall project design and implementation, as well as to the development of the individual case studies.

Project Contact Persons

Principal Investigator: Nasser Yassin, ny05@aub.edu.lb
Program Manager: Yara Mourad, ym14@aub.edu.lb
Project Coordinator: Maysa Baroud, maysabaroud@gmail.com

*The views expressed in these publications are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect the views of the Ford Foundation, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, or the American University of Beirut.*

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