{"doc_desc":{"producers":[{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DECDI","affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata"}],"prod_date":"2025-10-15","version":"1"},"project_desc":{"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Sandra V. Rozo","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"sandrarozo@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Ana Mar\u00eda Perez","affiliation":"Princeton University","email":"ap1647@princeton.edu"}],"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for From Policy To Practice: Lessons From The Implementation Of The  Refugee Work Rights Policy In Ethiopia","idno":"RR_ETH_2025_443"},"data_statement":"Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.","software":[{"name":"Excel","version":"Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2509)"},{"name":"QGIS","version":"3.44.3"}],"scripts":[{"title":"Reproducibility package for From Policy To Practice: Lessons From The Implementation Of The  Refugee Work Rights Policy In Ethiopia","date":"2025-10","notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.","instructions":"See README in reproducibility package.","file_name":"RR_ETH_2025_443","zip_package":"RR_ETH_2025_443.zip"}],"repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"production_date":"2025-10-15","abstract":"This paper examines the early implementation of Ethiopia\u2019s refugee work rights policy, with a focus on the issuance of permits that enable refugees to engage in economic activities. Building on significant legal and institutional advances under the 2019 Refugee Proclamation and subsequent Directives, the analysis explores how these reforms are being operationalized in practice. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining document review, administrative data analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the paper identifies both progress and remaining challenges. Permit issuance has increased since the adoption of detailed operational guidance in 2024, reflecting the Government of Ethiopia\u2019s commitment to operationalizing its progressive legal framework and ensuring that refugees can exercise their right to work. However, take-up remains modest, with about 5.2 percent of the working-age population holding a permit. Preliminary evidence suggests coordination gaps, limited subnational capacity, low awareness among refugees and employers, and disincentives to formalize in a largely informal labor market are contributing to the low take-up. The paper offers policy suggestions, grounded in the Ethiopian context and emerging evidence, to help translate legal commitments into improved labor market outcomes for refugees.","geographic_units":[{"name":"Ethiopia","code":"ETH"}],"keywords":[{"name":"Ethiopia"},{"name":"Refugees"},{"name":"Right To Work"},{"name":"Economic Opportunities"},{"name":"Take-Up Of Permits"}],"topics":[{"id":"F22","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"International Migration","parent_id":"F2"},{"id":" J61","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Geographic Labor Mobility \u2022 Immigrant Workers","parent_id":"J6"},{"id":" O15","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Human Resources \u2022 Human Development \u2022 Income Distribution \u2022 Migration","parent_id":"O1"},{"id":" J68","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Public Policy","parent_id":"J6"}],"output":[{"type":"Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)","title":"From Policy To Practice: Lessons From The Implementation Of The  Refugee Work Rights Policy In Ethiopia"}],"language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"disclaimer":"The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.","license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Sandra V. Rozo","affiliation":"Development Research Department, World Bank","email":"sandrarozo@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org"}],"datasets":[{"name":"World Development Indicators","citation":"World Bank, Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Ethiopia [SMPOPREFGETH], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/SMPOPREFGETH, May, 2025. ","note":"Source: World Bank, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).\nIndicator used: Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Ethiopia.\nFile name: \"SMPOPREFGETH.xlsx\".\nData was accessed in May 2025.","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.","license":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) with additional terms of use specified in the license URL","license_uri":"https:\/\/datacatalog.worldbank.org\/int\/public-licenses#cc-by","uri":"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/SMPOPREFGETH"},{"name":"Total Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ethiopia","note":"Source: UNHCR - Operations Data Portal.\nThe data contain the breakdown by country of origin, by age and gender, and by region of the total refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia.\nFile names: \"Breakdown by Country of Origin.xlsx\", \"Breakdown by Gender and Age.xlsx\", and \"RefugeesPerRegion.xlsx\".\nData was accessed in May 2025.","uri":"https:\/\/data.unhcr.org\/en\/country\/eth","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.","license":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)","license_uri":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/","citation":"Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).\n\"Total Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ethiopia\".\nAccessed in May 2025.\nhttps:\/\/data.unhcr.org\/en\/country\/eth"},{"name":"Total refugees in Ethiopia by refugee location, age group, and gender","note":"Source: UNHCR.\nThe data contain the breakdown by age group, gender, and refugee location of the total refugees in Ethiopia.\nFile name: \"UNHCR Ethiopia_Refugees_May 2025.xlsx\".\nData was accessed in May 2025. The data is restricted and was requested to Atinkut Mezgebu Wubneh, Senior Development Officer at UNHCR Ethiopia.","citation":"Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). n.d.\n\"Total refugees in Ethiopia by refugee location, age group, and gender\".\nUnpublished data.\nAccessed in May 2025.","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package."},{"name":"Ethiopia Economics Opportunities Program (EOP) Data","note":"Source: World Bank Ethiopia Country Office.\nThe data contains the number of work licenses and business permits issued to refugees in Ethiopia as part of the EOP by the time of data access.\nFile name: \"EOP_Data.xlsx\"\nData was accessed in May 2025. The data is restricted and was requested to Senidu Fanuel and Cesar Cancho from the Ethiopia WB Country Office.","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.","citation":"World Bank Ethiopia Country Office.\nn.d.\n\"Ethiopia Economics Opportunities Program (EOP) Data\".\nUnpublished data.\nAccessed in May 2025."},{"name":"Ethiopia Refugee Camps Location","note":"Source: World Bank Development Research Group.\nThe data contains the location of refugee camps in Ethiopia in 2019.\nFile name: \"ET_refugee_camps_unhcr_2019.shp\"\nData was accessed in May 2025. The data is restricted and was requested to Valentina Daza from the WB Development Research Group. Data is available upon request to the reproducibility package authors (Sandra Rozo - sandrarozo@worldbank.org).","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license and it is not included in the reproducibility package.","citation":"World Bank Development Research Group.\nn.d.\n\"Ethiopia Refugee Camps Location - 2019\".\nUnpublished data.\nAccessed in May 2025."},{"name":"Ethiopia - Subnational Administrative Boundaries","note":"Source: Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).\nFile name: \"eth_adm_csa_bofedb_2021_shp.shp\".\nData was accessed in May 2025.","license":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.","license_uri":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/","uri":"https:\/\/data.humdata.org\/dataset\/cod-ab-eth","citation":"Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).\n\"Ethiopia - Subnational Administrative Boundaries\".\nAccessed in May 2025.\nhttps:\/\/data.humdata.org\/dataset\/cod-ab-eth"},{"name":"Greater Horn of Africa Countries","note":"Source: Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).\nFile name: \"gha_region_icpac_2016.shp\".\nData was accessed in May 2025.","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.","license":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)","license_uri":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/","uri":"https:\/\/data.humdata.org\/dataset\/greater-horn-of-africa-countries","citation":"Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).\n\"Greater Horn of Africa Countries\".\nAccessed in May 2025.\nhttps:\/\/data.humdata.org\/dataset\/greater-horn-of-africa-countries"}],"technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: Windows 11 Enterprise\n\u2022 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz\n\u2022 Memory available: 8 GB","reproduction_instructions":"1. **Access the data:** Three datasets used in the reproducibility package are restricted and were accessed by contacting the data owners. Users need to gain access to the data files to be able to reproduce the results.\n2. **Place the data:** Once all data are obtained, copy them to the corresponding cells in the Excel files that produce each figure or to their corresponding folders.\n    - Figures 1 and 2 are produced by \"Figure1.xlsx\", \"Figure2_PanelA.xlsx\", and \"Figure2_PanelB.xlsx\" using public data included in the reproducibility package and do not need to be updated after all data are accessed.\n    - Data from the \"Ethiopia Economics Opportunities Program (EOP)\" dataset should be copied in cells D3:F9 of sheet \"PerTypePermitsGeography\" in \"Figure 6.xlsx\" and in same cells and sheet in \"Figure7.xlsx\".\n    - Data from the \"Total refugees in Ethiopia by refugee location, age group, and gender\" dataset should be copied in cells E3:AH37 of sheet \"Refugees\" in \"Figure7.xlsx\".\n    - Shapefiles from the \"Ethiopia Refugee Camps Location\" dataset should be copied in the folder \"Map\/Map Shapefiles Ethiopia\/ET_refugee_camps_unhcr_2019\/\" for them to be loaded by the QGIS project file \"MapEthiopiaRefugees.qgz\" to reproduce figure 3."},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"No code"},{"tag":"Restricted Data"}],"schematype":"script"}