Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/193325 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12031
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The East-West gap in the German population is believed to originate from migrants escaping the socialist regime in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). We use newly collected regional data and the combination of a regression discontinuity design in space with a difference-in-differences approach to document that the largest part of this gap is due to a massive internal migration wave 3 years prior to the establishment of the GDR. The timing and spatial pattern of this migration movement suggest that the dominant motive was escaping physical assault by the Soviet army and not avoiding the socialist regime. The skill composition of these migrants shows a strong positive selection. The gap in population has remained remarkably sharp in space and is growing.
Subjects: 
institutions
wartime violence against civilians
selective migration
regional migration
World War II
Germany
spatial distribution
regional economic activity
JEL: 
N44
N94
R23
R11
R12
J61
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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