Betts, Alexander. 2021 The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies. Oxford University Press:Oxford University Press, pp. 430.
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Author | Omar Kadkoy |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13060 |
Betts' new book discusses policies to harvest the potential and economic contribution of refugees by focusing on
three east African countries: Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The selection of the three countries finds motivation in
two factors. For starters, the three east African countries have taken in more refugees than the European Union (EU).
Second, the countries' application of various measures to economic empowerment for refugees. Thus, Betts raises
the question of How can we create sustainable refugee policies that allow all refugees to live dignified and purposeful lives,
while carrying political support at local, national, and international levels? The book's four chapters contain the answer
to his inquiry.
Betts argues in the first chapter that the most realistic way to move toward refugees' sustainable self-reliance is
through significant development-oriented investment in low- and middle-income countries for hosting the majority
of asylum seekers and refugees, as well as being close to the displaced people's countries of origin. His approach, he
argues, is sustainable as long as it protects refugees' rights, sustains local, national, and international political support,
and is scalable and durable for the long run. He then demonstrates two examples in support of his idea. The first is
that refugees' freedom to choose a destination country in the West contrasts with developed governments' usage of
deterrent techniques to prevent the arbitrary entrance of asylum seekers across continents (e.g., Dublin Regulation
in the EU). The second is about the striking aspect of power imbalance in the international refugee system, which
renders resettlement to be politically challenging (e.g., the EU's regional relocation scheme of 160,000 asylum seek-
ers from Greece and Italy in 2015).
One interesting part in the first chapter discusses three different oppositions to his approach. According to the
first account, promoting a development-based strategy in countries of first asylum is analogous to regional contain-
ment. Betts contends, among other things, that establishing possibilities closer to refugees' home is more plausible
than refugees facing many risks through secondary migration. The second account of objection finds basis in expos-
ing refugees to exploitative competition by advocating for a market based neo-liberal approach. Betts acknowl-
edges that specific refugees require protection from socioeconomic vulnerabilities and that refugees overall face a
degree of regulatory asymmetries, but he argues that including refugees in the markets is preferable to excluding
them altogether because similar inclusion leads to refugees' long term autonomy. The last account of objection
argues that development-oriented approach convey imperialism for imposing solutions on both refugees and host
countries. In relation, Betts thinks that self-governance is viable in refugee camps and cities, citing refugee-led
projects in Kampala, Uganda, as an example. As for countries, especially in light of global power inequalities, the
BOOK REVIEW
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13060
Received: 8 August 2022 Accepted: 17 August 2022
318 Int Migr. 2023;61:318–320.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
Betts, Alexander. 2021. The Wealth of Refugees:
How Displaced People Can Build Economies.
Oxford University Press: Oxford. pp. 430.
Omar Kadkoy
Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey
Email: omar.kadkoy@tepav.org.tr
© 2022 International Organization for Migration.
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