The Impact of Syrian Refugees on a Receiving State’s Public Expenditure: Evidence from Jordan
Wa’ed Alshoubaki, Michael Harris

Abstract
The massive influx of 1.2 million Syrian refugees in Jordan has increased the demand for public services. The study aims to investigate the impact of Syrian refugees on Jordanian public expenditure, and is based on regional focus. It assesses the structural impact of Syrian refugees on total public expenditure, including current public and capital expenditure, and investigates their impact on the public health and education sectors. Regression analysis has been utilized to determine how the influx of Syrian refugees has affected Jordanian public spending. The results suggest both that total public expenditure has increased due to the influx of Syrian refugees and that current public expenditure has increased at the expense of capital spending. Moreover, the results suggest that the presence of Syrian refugees positively affects total health care expenditure but negatively affects capital expenditure, and that public education expenditure has increased due to their presence.

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