Abstract
Colombia stands as a pioneer in refugee policy. By granting a regularization status to more than two million Venezuelans, it has showcased the potential of a self-inclusion model in which refugees can work, move freely, and access public services as any other vulnerable population. This lecture summarizes a decade of research on what that model has meant for the economic, social, and political structures of host communities, and for the lives of migrants themselves, in both the short and the long run. It closes with two new studies, one tracing the medium run effects of regularization on migrant social capital, the other its public health externalities.
Biography
Sandra V. Rozo is a Senior Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank, Faculty Affiliate at UC Berkeley’s CEGA and EGAP, Research Fellow at IZA, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Development Economics. Her research examines how forced displacement affects development and how we can support displaced populations and their hosting communities effectively. She co-founded major studies on forced migration, including VenRePs and the Syrian Refugee Life Study, and contributed to the World Development Report 2023. She is the recipient of the 2024 Juan Luis Londoño Award, awarded biennially to Colombians under 40 whose work has significantly improved welfare in Colombia. Her work spans Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, including multiple randomized control trials.
Co-Sponsored with: Sadie Alexander Association