Housing and living conditions in Jordan-2010-2016

Abstract EN

This paper uses a new and original dataset, the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) of 2010 and 2016 to study living and housing conditions in Jordan.

In 2016 the JLMPS oversampled regions with high concentration of refugees which enables us to investigate the living and housing conditions of refugees who live out-of- and in-refugee camps.

The paper documents changes in housing characteristics for Jordanian households over the time period 2010-2016.

It then compares the living and housing conditions in 2016 for out-of- and in-camp refugees to that of locals.

The paper shows an improvement in the living and housing conditions for local households (both established and newly-formed) with the share of home ownership and the share of households living in private houses, relative to flats, increased between 2010 and 2016.

The paper further shows that while the majority of refugees live out-of-refugee camps, those who live in-camps are doing much worse in terms of living conditions manifested mainly in smaller living areas, worse access to public facilities, and less ownership of durable assets.