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Trends in East-West German Migration from 1989 to 2002

Author

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  • Frank W. Heiland

    (City University of New York)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show recent trends in regional migration from East to West Germany by combining data from the Statistisches Bundesamt from 1991 to 2002 with data from the Zentrales Einwohnerregister der DDR from 1989 to 1990. We document that annual gross outmigration rates peaked at the time of the Reunification, fell sharply thereafter, but rose steadily from the 1997 until 2001 to reach levels obtained prior to the Reunification. While Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg experienced less outmigration before the Reunification compared to Thueringen, Sachsen, and Sachsen-Anhalt, they are the regions that have experienced the highest pace of outmigration since then. With the exception of the increasing popularity of the Berlin region, the distribution of East to West migrants across West Germany is fairly stable over time: migrants continue to favor the large industrial provinces of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Niedersachsen.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank W. Heiland, 2004. "Trends in East-West German Migration from 1989 to 2002," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 11(7), pages 173-194.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:11:y:2004:i:7
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2004.11.7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fanny A. Kluge, 2009. "Transfers, consumption and income over the lifecycle in Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Mark Trede & Michael Zimmermann, 2020. "Regional labour migration - Stylized facts for Germany," CQE Working Papers 9320, Center for Quantitative Economics (CQE), University of Muenster.
    3. Anja Vatterrott, 2015. "Socialisation or Institutional Context: What Determines the First and Second Birth Behaviour of East–West German Migrants?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 383-415, October.
    4. Olga Grigoriev & Gabriele Doblhammer, 2022. "Does the Mortality of Individuals with Severe Disabilities Contribute to the Persistent East–West Mortality Gap Among German Men?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(2), pages 247-271, May.
    5. Tilman Brück & Heiko Peters, 2009. "20 Years of German Unification: Evidence on Income Convergence and Heterogeneity," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 925, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Matteo Migheli, 2012. "The transition of people’s preferences for the intervention of the government in the economy of re-unified Germany," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 11(2), pages 101-126, August.
    7. Seong Hee Kim, 2021. "Changes in Social Trust: Evidence from East German Migrants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 959-981, June.
    8. Tobias C. Vogt & Alyson A. van Raalte & Pavel Grigoriev & Mikko Myrskylä, 2016. "German East-West mortality difference: two cross-overs driven by smoking," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2016-004, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    9. Tobias Vogt & Alyson van Raalte & Pavel Grigoriev & Mikko Myrskylä, 2017. "The German East-West Mortality Difference: Two Crossovers Driven by Smoking," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 1051-1071, June.
    10. Fanny A. Kluge, 2011. "Labor income and consumption profiles: the case of Germany," Chapters, in: Ronald Lee & Andrew Mason (ed.), Population Aging and the Generational Economy, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Anja Vatterrott, 2011. "The fertility behaviour of East to West German migrants," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2011-013, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. Kuehn, Zoe, 2012. "Migration, Wages, and Parental Background: Obstacles to Entrepreneurship and Growth in East Germany," MPRA Paper 49250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Kuehn, Zoe, 2014. "The rise or the fall of the wall? Determinants of low entrepreneurship in East Germany," Working Papers in Economic Theory 2014/03, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History).
    14. Johannes Gernandt & Friedhelm Pfeiffer, 2008. "Wage Convergence and Inequality after Unification: (East) Germany in Transition," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 107, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    15. Bandiera, Oriana & Rasul, Imran & Viarengo, Martina, 2013. "The Making of Modern America: Migratory Flows in the Age of Mass Migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 23-47.
    16. Michaela Fuchs & Antje Weyh, 2015. "Return migration to East Germany: Spatial patterns and the relevance for regional labor markets," ERSA conference papers ersa15p835, European Regional Science Association.
    17. Nico Stawarz & Nikola Sander & Harun Sulak & Matthias Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge, 2020. "The turnaround in internal migration between East and West Germany over the period 1991 to 2018," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(33), pages 993-1008.
    18. Christoph Eder & Martin Halla, 2018. "On the Origin of the German East-West Population Gap," Economics working papers 2018-17, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    19. Timo MITZE & Björn ALECKE & Gerhard UNTIEDT, 2008. "Determinants of Interregional Migration Among German States and its Implications for Reducing East-West Disparities: Results from a Panel VAR Using Efficient GMM Estimation," EcoMod2008 23800089, EcoMod.
    20. Eder, Christoph & Halla, Martin, 2018. "On the Origin and Composition of the German East-West Population Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 12031, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Michael Mühlichen, 2019. "Avoidable Mortality in the German Baltic Sea Region Since Reunification: Convergence or Persistent Disparities?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 609-637, July.
    22. Bauer, Thomas K. & Rulff, Christian & Tamminga, Michael M., 2019. "Berlin calling - Internal migration in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 823, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Germany; migration; East-West German migration; reunification; labor mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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