Inclusive refugee-hosting can improve local development and prevent public backlash

•We study the effects of liberal refugee-hosting policies and hosting large numbers of refugees on public goods provision and attitudes towards migration in Uganda from 2001 to 2020.•Uganda’s inclusive refugee hosting policies allow refugees to self-settle and have access to local public goods, while also ensuring that host communities benefit from refugee-related aid.•We combine longitudinal geospatial data on refugee settlements, primary and secondary education, healthcare, roads, citizen attitudes, and conflict.•We find that host community parishes that are closer to larger refugee settlements experience substantial positive spillovers, such as improved public school access, greater access to health clinics, more health utilization, and more road density.•While we might expect liberal hosting policies and large numbers of refugees to lead to public backlash, especially among poorer citizens, we find no backlash.