News Finding: The group found that if the algorithm had selected locations for refugees' resettlement, the average employment rate among those refugees would have been roughly 41 percent higher.
Paper Finding: Finally, the expected employment returns associated with personal characteristics can vary across different resettlement locations (Fig.
News Context: The group, from Stanford and ETH Zurich, says the algorithm, which could be implemented at virtually no cost, could help resource-constrained governments and resettlement agencies find the best places for refugees to relocate. The group found that if the algorithm had selected locations for refugees' resettlement, the average employment rate among those refugees would have been roughly 41 percent higher. They predicted the employment rate would have been 73 percent higher among asylum seekers who arrived in 2013 if they had been assigned to the places the algorithm identified as optimal.
Paper Context: In addition, refugees with certain characteristics, such as language and educational skills, are more likely to succeed economically regardless of the resettlement location to which they are sent (Fig. Finally, the expected employment returns associated with personal characteristics can vary across different resettlement locations (Fig. This indicates that there are synergies between places and people; certain characteristics will make a refugee a better match for a particular location.