Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/174026 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11116
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We examine the long-run effects of forced migration from Eastern Europe into post-war Germany. Existing evidence suggests that displaced individuals are worse off economically, facing a considerably lower income and a higher unemployment risk than comparable natives even twenty years after being expelled. We extend this literature by investigating the relative performance of forced migrants across the entire life cycle. Using social security records that document the exact date of death and a proxy for pre-retirement lifetime earnings, we estimate a significantly and considerably higher mortality risk among forced migrants compared to native West-Germans. The adverse displacement effect persists throughout the earnings distribution except for the top quintile. Although forced migrants are generally worse off regarding mortality outcomes, those with successful labor market histories seem to overcome the long-lasting negative consequences of flight and expulsion.
Subjects: 
forced migration
differential mortality
lifetime earnings
economic history
JEL: 
I12
J61
O15
R23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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