A refugee influx and the corresponding actions taken by relief agencies and governments can have a significant impact on host communities. However, as literature review reveals an increasing though still limited research hs been conducted on the economic impact of cash transfer programs on host communities. Therefore, this report contributes to close this research gap by providing a comprehensive overall economic impact analysis by looking at the implemented relief programs in Jordan

The first section provides a comprehensive literature review on the research that has been done on the impact of refugees and aid provided, on host communities in similar contexts as the current one of Syrian refugees in Jordan. The second step includes desk research in the form of evaluating secondary data found to the case of Jordan. The discussion part includes a comparison of the effectiveness of aid in past experiences to the aid response in Jordan. Finally, a conclusion based on the findings with recommendations for involved international organisations and policy makers is made.

The study highlights the need to put the impact of the humanitarian response into the context of the overall economic development of the host country. Jordan's annual GDP growth rate, foreign direct investment, and unemployment as well as poverty rate, had all already been deteriorating during the years before the crisis. Due to the well-integrated Jordanian food market, prices have not been negatively affected and were even slightly lower in participating store than in non-participating stores, which indicates that cash transfers not only benefitted recipients but also non-beneficiaries. For housing the demand has more than doubled in the last two years. However, one of the main findings includes that housing prices not only increased due to the large additional demand but there is also a tendency that cash transfers for rent have further contributed to price inflation in the housing sector. Overall the impact of the Syrian refugees and the implemented aid response on host communities has been overstated and many developments pre-date the crisis. Nevertheless, the cash transfer practice for housing needs to be revised to avoid a further additional contribution to price inflation.