The Returns to International Migration in a Free Mobility Setting: Evidence from Austria and Germany

Andrea Weber, David Card, Wolfgang Dauth, Wolfgang Frimmel, Julia Schmieder and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer
Additional contact information
David Card: UC Berkeley, NBER, RFBerlin
Wolfgang Dauth: Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and University of Bamberg, IZA, RFBerlin, CESifo
Wolfgang Frimmel: Johannes Kepler University Linz
Julia Schmieder: Otto von Guerick eUniversity Magdeburg,RFBerlin
Rudolf Winter-Ebmer: Johannes Kepler University Linz, IZA, IHS, CEPR, RFBerlin

No 5, IHS Discussion Papers from Institute for Advanced Studies

Abstract: How big are the gains to international migration? How do they vary across migrants? We study these questions using linked administrative data for Austria and Germany, focusing on migrants who were steadily employed 2-4 years before their move and using their previous co-workers as a comparison group for a difference-in-differences design. We combine data from the origin and destination countries for 5 years after the move, allowing us to assess the gains for those who remain in the destination and those who return. On average, migrants from Austria to Germany experience an immediate and persistent rise of around 13% in their daily wage relative to their matched co-workers, while migrants from Germany to Austria gain about 4%. The higher returns for Austrians are mainly driven by higher average wages in Germany, rather than by differential selection of migrants. Consistent with a dynamic learning model, the returns to migration are largest for migrants who remain in the destination country, smaller for those who return after 1-4 years, and zero or even slightly negative for those who return in less than a year. They are also larger for migrants who follow established cross-border networks between workplaces. To help interpret our findings we conduct a parallel analysis ofdomestic migrants who move to a larger city (Vienna or one of the 5 largest cities in Germany). “Big city†movers experience gains in wages of about 5% for Austrians and 10% for Germans. Again the gains are largest for those who remain in the destination city, with smaller effects for those who move on.

Pages: pages 76
Date: 2026-09
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/7516/ First version, 2026 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: The Returns to International Migration in a Free Mobility Setting: Evidence from Austria and Germany (2026)
Working Paper: The Returns to International Migration in a Free Mobility Setting: Evidence from Austria and Germany (2026)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ihs:ihsdps:number5

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
Institute for Advanced Studies - Library, Josefstädterstr. 39, A-1080 Vienna, Austria

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IHS Discussion Papers from Institute for Advanced Studies Josefstädterstr. 39, A-1080 Vienna, Austria. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Elisabet Torggler ().