*Contains an overview of refugee experiences stressing the active roles they play in shaping their lives
*Proposes a model for a policy that increases refugees' ability to support themselves

Popular images of refugees depict thousands of traumatized people pouring across borders, congregating in camps where relief agenices try to meet their health and food needs in and outside camps. This book explores the economic life of refugees in protracted situations in a variety of settings: in camps, in urban areas and in third countries in the West.

In The Economic Life of Refugees, Karen Jacobsen stresses that refugees fleeing violence and persecution are economic actors. She explores how some of the innovative ideas influencing migration theory can be applied to the study of refugees, and the ways in which humanitarian programs can support their efforts to pursue their livelihoods.

This book is intended for undergraduates and graduate students, practitioners in the field, libraries, NGOs and anyone seeking to learn more about understanding refugees and the response of organizations trying to help them. Written with elegance and passion, The Economic Life of Refugees is destined to be a classic work of activism as well as social science.

Table of Contents:

1) Introduction: Displaced Livelihoods; 2) Economic Survivial in Refugee Camps; 3) Urban Refugees; 4) Beyond the Country of the First Asylum: Refugees in Third Countries; 5) Can Humanitarian Programs Supporting the Livelihoods of the Displaced?; 6) Supporting the Livelihoods of Refugees: A Model for Refugee Assistance