Forced migration and local economic development: Evidence from postwar Hungary

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Borbely, Daniel; Mckenzie, Ross
• 署名单位: Queens University Belfast; University of Dundee
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103355
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: Forced migration Economic development Minorities Persistence Regional inequality

摘要

We investigate the effects of forced migration on sending economies using the post-WW2 expulsion of German minorities from Hungary as a natural experiment. We combine historical and contemporary data sources show that the forced migrations led to lasting reductions in economic activity. Plausible mechanisms driving this result appear to be sectoral change (shift towards agriculture) and skills differences between Germans and the settlers that replaced them. Our analysis reveals that forced migration can cause lasting regional inequalities in sending economies.