The importance of refugees and their descendants for understanding population heterogeneity

<p dir="ltr">In this book chapter, we argue that refugees and their descendants are worthy of focus, and inclusion, in population studies across the globe. The chapter comprises four main sections. In the first section, we discuss some of the most common concepts and theories that are used when studying refugees and their descendants. The second section then provides a summary of some prominent areas of prior research, with a focus on quantitative studies of inequalities and disparities in socio-demographic and health outcomes. We discuss some of the most well-known inequalities and disparities that are experienced by refugees and their descendants as a means of demonstrating the ways that they can contribute toward population heterogeneities. In doing so, we acknowledge the limited scope of our summary, not least due to our focus on quantitative studies, which makes it easier to discuss heterogeneities at the population-level, but nevertheless gives scant attention to the large body of research that does not focus on quantitative evidence. In the third section, we then provide some analysis to support one of our principal arguments, namely that refugees and their descendants not only contribute to heterogeneity because they are different from many other population subgroups, but also because they are different from each other. To do this we use Sweden as a case study, providing new analysis of heterogeneities among immigrants and their children who arrived in Sweden as refugees. In the final section, we discuss the generalisability of knowledge about refugees and their descendants, as well as making some recommendations for future research, in particular with respect to population heterogeneities.</p>