
- 20 Mar 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
In the Shadows? Informal Enterprise in Non-Democracies
With the informal economy representing a third of the GDP in an average Middle East and North African country, why do chronically indebted regimes tolerate such a large and untaxed shadow economy? Among this study’s findings, higher rates of public sector employment correlate with greater permissibility of firm informality.

- 03 Jan 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Framing Violence, Finding Peace
Using data collected in a 2016 survey of 1,120 Syrian refugees in Turkey, this study finds that 1) framing civilians’ wartime ordeal as suffering or sacrifice influences their attitudes about ending the conflict, and 2) the identity of who advocates for peace affects civilians’ attitude about supporting it. These results suggest new possibilities for reconciliation processes.

- 03 Oct 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
When Exit is an Option: Effects of Indiscriminate Violence on Attitudes Among Syrian Refugees in Turkey
This study examines the attitudes of civilians displaced by violence in a conflict where the strategic logic was not to control people but to remove them. Results show that civilians who can leave the conflict zone do not necessarily politically align with one or another armed group. Rather, they engage in civic activities that benefit the civilian refugee community itself.
Fairness or Control: What Determines Elected Local Leaders’ Support for Hosting Refugees in Their Community?
Local politicians are not adamantly opposed to setting up host sites for refugees in their municipalities. However, they want a fair process to ensure that interaction between refugees and residents is limited, gradual, and mediated. Most importantly, local politicians want to control those interactions.