A sense of no future in an uncertain present : altruism and risk-seeking among Syrian refugees in Jordan

An unprecedented number of refugees from Syria has sought refuge in both the Middle East andEurope since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011. We analyze the level of altruism and risk-seeking among Syrian civil war victims in Jordan. We find systematic variations in their revealed levels of altruism and their willingness to accept risk: feelingas if having no future coincides with both more egoistic and morerisk-seekingbehavior. Refugees' behavioral responses and their sense of no future correlatewith their current personal livingexperiences.Our findings suggest that both the sense of no future and the accompanying behavioral responses areprimarily associated withmiserable current living conditions rather than withexperiences directly related to the civil war in Syria.Policy implications of these findings seem straightforward: Policy makers need to provide additionalassistance for facilitating family reunion.