Isabel Ruiz Olaya
Isabel is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Oxford. She is a Fellow in Economics at Harris Manchester College where she is also a Tutorial Fellow, and an Adjunct Faculty member at the Blavatnik School of Government. She is Associate Editor for the Oxford Review of Economic Policy (OXREP) and the co-convener of the Economics of Forced Migration Project (Econforced). Prior her current position, Isabel was Associate Professor of Political Economy and Director of Studies in Economics in Continuing Education at the University of Oxford and Assistant Professor in Economics at Sam Houston State University.
Isabel’s research interests are broadly in labour, development and political economy. Her most recent work draws from these three areas and focues particularly on the economics of migration – with an emphasis on forced migration. Isabel is co-convener of the Economics of Forced Migration project, Econforced, a research initiative which provides quantitative evidence on the impacts of displacement on host communities, the displaced and the communities of origin. She is currently working on a research project using conjoint survey experiments to increase our understanding of the factors that affect individual attitudes and policy preferences towards migration in the context of south-south migration and in the UK. Isabel is a Fellow at the International Migration Institute (IMI) at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research. She is also an affiliate (and part of the management board) of the Latin American Centre at Oxford and Associate Member at the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.
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Follow Isabel on
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Isabel is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Oxford. She is a Fellow in Economics at Harris Manchester College where she is also a Tutorial Fellow, and an Adjunct Faculty member at the Blavatnik School of Government. She is Associate Editor for the Oxford Review of Economic Policy (OXREP) and the co-convener of the Economics of Forced Migration Project (Econforced). Prior her current position, Isabel was Associate Professor of Political Economy and Director of Studies in Economics in Continuing Education at the University of Oxford and Assistant Professor in Economics at Sam Houston State University.
Isabel’s research interests are broadly in labour, development and political economy. Her most recent work draws from these three areas and focues particularly on the economics of migration – with an emphasis on forced migration. Isabel is co-convener of the Economics of Forced Migration project, Econforced, a research initiative which provides quantitative evidence on the impacts of displacement on host communities, the displaced and the communities of origin. She is currently working on a research project using conjoint survey experiments to increase our understanding of the factors that affect individual attitudes and policy preferences towards migration in the context of south-south migration and in the UK. Isabel is a Fellow at the International Migration Institute (IMI) at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research. She is also an affiliate (and part of the management board) of the Latin American Centre at Oxford and Associate Member at the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.
In their own words…
IEA: Can you tell us a little bit about your life story, what got you interested in economics, and how you decided to pursue an academic career?
Isabel: I grew up in Medellín, Colombia, at a time when the city was known as the “most dangerous city in the world”. Growing up in a city of extremes made me, at an early age, aware about the drivers of violence, including poverty and inequality. Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world. In a typical city, you can see luxurious homes next to deprived neighbourhoods. The size of the informal economy means that the tax base is small and that is reflected in the lack of State presence in many places. The reliance on primary goods for exports (e.g. coffee, oil) also meant that international price changes often had sudden and drastic impacts in the economy.
My parents were interested in politics and economics and we often discussed these issues at home. I remember our discussions very fondly as they always took place during “el apagón” which were the State mandated blackouts (to save energy). These blackouts always took place at night, so we often lit some candles and sat at the dinner table to discuss, among others, the likely impacts of these blackouts in the economy.
I initially wanted to study Politics to have a better understanding of our society (I also wanted to be a journalist, but that’s another story). However, in my last year of high school I took a University course in economic development and the economic history of Colombia and I was fascinated. The course material explained so much of what was going on in Colombia but it also left unanswered questions. Since I also loved mathematics, I knew then that I wanted to become an economist. I also knew early on that I wanted to be in academia. This became clear with the first essay I had to write for an undergraduate international economics class. I really enjoyed the process of coming up with a question, doing the necessary readings, and understanding the sources of data that I needed to find.
IEA: In your recent work you study forced migration and challenges to policy responses, can you briefly summarize your findings?
Isabel: An important aspect of forced migration as a policy challenge is understanding that there is a difference with other types of migration (e.g. work or study migration). While governments can often think about the design of migration policies that better suits their economies, with forced migration governments must balance their moral obligation to protect displaced populations and the needs of their economies and how to accommodate public preferences regarding immigration and asylum policies.
Thankfully, economists have been paying attention to this topic and some of my work has contributed to the recent evidence. In general, two important findings are: (i) forced migrants (in particular asylum seekers and refugees) are at a disadvantage in the labour market when compared with other migrants and natives. These disadvantages may stem from their own traumatic experiences which has consequences for their mental health but also from policy. Asylum seekers often need to wait before joining the labour market and these waiting times may have detrimental impacts and raises the importance of well design policy for integration. (ii) The impact of forced displacement on host communities, especially in the context of large-forced migration movements, is not necessarily negative. The evidence shows that on aggregate, the impacts in terms of consumption and productivity are positive and, while there are some groups that may face challenges in the labour market, others benefit due to potential complementarities. This again raises the importance of well design policy. Countries like Colombia, who currently host over 2.5 million migrants, have taken stock of this evidence and are developing progressive policies for dealing with the issue.
I recently co-edited an issue for the Oxford Review of Economic Policy with Simon Quinn which features some of these and other big questions in the field. For those interested, you can find the articles here: https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/issue/38/3
IEA: In your recent works you study the impact of refugee return on social cohesion, can you briefly summarize your findings? What made you interested in this topic?
Isabel: When we economists talk about (or teach) trade, we often emphasize that on average, the impacts of trade are positive for the economy. Yet, discussions about trade can be polarizing and those affected by the distributional impacts of trade feel strongly about this. This leads to important impacts on voting behavior. With forced migration, there is a similar sentiment. There is no evidence of aggregate negative impacts (and in some high-income countries the numbers of forced migrants are negligible) yet this can be a polarizing issue. This led me to think that is not all about economics and therefore I started being interested in potential impacts on social cohesion.
In the case of forced displacement, protracted displacement is the norm. Most forcibly displaced people spend years away from their home communities or countries but there are others that stay and endure the conflict or others that are displaced within their own country. When the conflict comes to its end, repatriation is one of the durable solutions encouraged by the international community. When those displaced return, this implies the re-encounter of individuals who were separated for years, often decades. In the process, they may form different views and attitudes about trust, reconciliation, and community engagement. Understanding these differences is key given the implications this can have in terms of peace-building, nation-building, and economic performance. Our work on Burundi shows that the return of the displaced can indeed have negative consequences on different indicators of social cohesion. In addition, when looking at indicators of trust, reconciliation, and community engagement, there are important differences between those who stayed in their communities of residence during the conflict (stayees) and those who were displaced internally and internationally and returned home over time (returnees).
In addition to the above, our most recent work in Colombia – a country that currently hosts over 2.5 million forced displaced people – shows that there are potential levers that can be used for citizens support of immigration policies. This includes contact with migrants, highlighting the humanitarian aspect of migration in this context, and trust in government.
IEA: Why is this research relevant?
Isabel: Unfortunately, with the increasing number of conflicts around the world we are likely to see increasing forced displacement during the next decade. There is a moral obligation to provide protection to those escaping conflict, but we should not stop there. We should make sure that they integrate into the labour market and that they acquire skills that help them contribute to their new societies. These skills will also help them contribute to their home countries if they decide to return home. However, in order for that to occur we need a strong research base on this topic.
IEA: Why is it important for economic research to be racially diverse and inclusive?
Isabel: When we bring people from different backgrounds, nationalities, upbringing, etc., to the conversation, it allows us to have different perspectives that we would not have otherwise. This is especially important when we think about the normative implications of the research we do. For example, I am now co-editing an issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy with Sandy Darity which we hope will raise the importance of these issues. The issues should be out by June 2024 and will look at different relevant aspects of the interplay between race and policy, all from evidence on policies of affirmative action, voting right, color blind approaches in data and the implications for policy, and fairness and bias in automated decision making, among others.