Is the impact of refugees always negative? Are governments that accept refugees justified in depicting them as a burden? Or are refugees potential agents of development? Could support of livelihood activities enable refugees to lessen their dependence on aid and reduce tension with their hosts? Could locals benefit from refugee camp infrastructure when refugees go home? A working paper entitled ‘The role and impact of humanitarian assets in refugee-hosting countries’ from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees series ‘New issues in Refugee Research’ focuses on the humanitarian assets and infrastructure provided to refugee hosting countries in order to better understand the consequences of refugee and humanitarian assistance.