Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers

Sascha Becker, Irena Grosfeld, Pauline Grosjean, Nico Voigtländer and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya
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Nico Voigtländer: UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles] - UC - University of California, UCLA Anderson School of Management, UCL - University College of London [London]

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Abstract: We study the long-run effects of forced migration on investment in education. After World War II, millions of Poles were forcibly uprooted from the Kresy territories of eastern Poland and resettled (primarily) in the newly acquired Western Territories, from which the Germans were expelled. We combine historical censuses with newly collected survey data to show that, while there were no pre-WWII differences in educational attainment, Poles with a family history of forced migration are significantly more educated today than other Poles. These results are driven by a shift in preferences away from material possessions toward investment in human capital.

Date: 2020-05
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Published in American Economic Review, 2020, 110 (5), pp.1430-1463. ⟨10.1257/aer.20181518⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2020)
Working Paper: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2020)
Working Paper: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2018)
Working Paper: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2018)
Working Paper: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2018)
Working Paper: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-03247977

DOI: 10.1257/aer.20181518

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