世界银行-超越营地和社区：孟加拉国难民搬迁的经济学（英）

Policy Research Working Paper11204Beyond Camps and CommunitiesThe Economics of Refugee Relocation in BangladeshSandra V. RozoMaría José UrbinaChristina WieserDevelopment Economics Development Research GroupSeptember 2025 Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedProduced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 11204Relocating refugees to remote purpose-built settlements offers an alternative to hosting refugees in traditional camps or local communities. Yet, its consequences remain poorly understood. This paper evaluates the well-being and fiscal implications of relocating Rohingya refugees from the overcrowded camps of Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char, a newly developed remote island settlement in Bangladesh. Using data from the 2019 and 2023 waves of the Cox’s Bazar Panel Survey and the Bhasan Char Panel Survey 2022 and considering the absence of systematic se- lection criteria in the relocation process, the paper compares well-being outcomes between relocated and non-relocated households using both unadjusted means and propensity score matching. The paper documents two main findings. First, relocation is associated with a systematic reduction in refugee well-being, including lower food consumption (in both variety and nutritional value), higher illness and depression rates, and lower wages. Second, these outcomes occur despite significantly higher costs: per capita service delivery in Bhasan Char is approximately three times more expensive than in Cox’s Bazar. These results raise import-ant questions about the sustainability and effectiveness of purpose-built relocation models in displacement settings.This paper is a product of the Development Research Group, Development Economics. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The authors may be contacted at sandrarozo@worldbank.org. Beyond Camps and Communities:The Economics of Refugee Relocation in Bangladesh *Sandra V. Rozo†Mar´ıa Jos´e Urbina‡Christina Wieser§JEL Classification: F22, O15, R23Keywords: Forced Displacement,