While the literature on refugee livelihoods is growing, there is a lack of comparative studies of their livelihood strategies in relation to their host communities and their living locations. Drawing upon fieldwork in Kakuma camp and Nairobi in Kenya, this article therefore provides a comparative analysis of the economic activities employed by refugees living in different contexts and highlights some of the institutional factors that distinguish the economic lives of refugees from those of their host populations. The findings suggest that while some Kenyan hosts are encumbered by challenges that are comparable to those faced by refugees, the myriad political, legal, and policy factors that characterise refugeehood are nonetheless particular in the ways that they influence livelihoods. By highlighting the multiple actors and factors that shape refugees’ economic strategies, the article also reveals the political economy within which refugee livelihoods are embedded.

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