Host-Refugee Labor Market Friction Asymmetry
Cash transfers increased Syrian wage employment by 5.2 percentage points at 2 months (p = 0.017) and 3.8 percentage points at 4 months (p = 0.027), while raising earnings by 65%. In contrast, cash had no significant effect on Jordanians (-0.007 at 2 months, -0.025 at 4 months), as Jordanians had 25% higher baseline daily expenditure, searched 30% more intensely, and filed twice as many job applications in the control group.