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Refugee Finance: Histories, Frameworks, Practices

Project description

Redefining refugee aid

Amidst a decade-long decline in traditional aid for refugee flows, a transformative shift to ‘refugee finance’ has taken centre stage, propelled by innovative financial instruments like refugee bonds and concessional loans. This departure from conventional funding methods raises critical questions about the uncharted socio-economic, legal and financial landscapes of this new approach. Addressing this pressing concern is the ERC-funded REF-FIN project, a pioneering initiative set to unravel the complexities of refugee finance. By delving into the political, financial and legal intricacies, REF-FIN aims to provide a much-needed understanding of the long-term implications and potential of this evolving paradigm in addressing societal challenges posed by large-scale refugee movements.

Objective

Over the last decade, following a general decline in aid from traditional bilateral and multilateral donors, the international community has dramatically changed the way in which it seeks to fund humanitarian responses to refugee flows, with an increasing reliance on 'refugee finance'. Refugee finance is the term used to refer to new financial instruments aimed at attracting private capital: refugee bonds, technical assistance funds and concessional loans. These instruments are promoted by international organizations, international financial institutions and states as inevitable solutions to the societal challenges raised by large-scale refugee flows. However, we know very little about the socio-economic, legal and financial implications of this paradigmatic shift 'from funding to financing'. Refugee finance has the potential to dramatically affect not only the refugee funding paradigm, but also the economy of the countries hosting refugees, and the way in which international refugee protection itself is conceptualized and implemented. According to its proponents, refugee finance promises to ensure refugees' resilience and self-reliance, whilst at the same time supporting the economic development of the host communities. There is, however, insufficient evidence to support these promises and a limited understanding of how these financial instruments operate. REF-FIN will advance both theoretical and practical knowledge of the political, financial and legal processes enabling refugee finance, and of its longer-term socio-economic implications through a comprehensive study of its frameworks practices and emerging patterns.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG

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Host institution

LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 498 756,00
Address
Paradisgatan 5c
22100 Lund
Sweden

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Region
Södra Sverige Sydsverige Skåne län
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 498 756,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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