Forced Migration and the Effects of an Integration Policy in Post-WWII Germany

Citation

Falck O, Heblich S & Link S (2012) Forced Migration and the Effects of an Integration Policy in Post-WWII Germany. BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 12 (1). https://doi.org/10.1515/1935-1682.3171

Abstract
After World War II, about 8 million ethnic Germans - so called expellees - were forced to leave their homelands and settle within the new borders of West Germany. Subsequently, a law (Federal Expellee Law) was introduced to foster their labor market integration. We evaluate this law by comparing the employment situation between expellees and groups of West Germans and GDR refugees over time. We define our comparison groups to uncover even small effects of the law. Still, we find no evidence that the law met its goal to foster the expellees' labor market integration.

Keywords
forced migration; integration policy; Germany; post-WWII

Journal
BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Volume 12, Issue 1