IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v11y2004i7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trends in East-West German Migration from 1989 to 2002

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol11/7/11-7.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2004.11.7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael C. Burda & Wolfgang Härdle & Marlene Müller & Axel Werwatz, 1998. "Semiparametric analysis of German East-West migration intentions: facts and theory," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 525-541.
    2. George A. Akerlof & Andrew K. Rose & Janet L. Yellen & Helga Hessenius, 1991. "East Germany in from the Cold: The Economic Aftermath of Currency Union," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 1-106.
    3. Hans‐Werner Sinn, 2002. "Germany’s Economic Unification: An Assessment after Ten Years," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 113-128, February.
    4. Jennifer Hunt, 2000. "Why Do People Still Live in East Germany?," NBER Working Papers 7564, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Wolfgang Franz & Viktor Steiner, 2000. "Wages in the East German Transition Process: Facts and Explanations," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(3), pages 241-269, August.
    6. Klaus F. Zimmermann, 1995. "Tackling the European Migration Problems," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 45-62, Spring.
    7. Burda, Michael C., 1993. "The determinants of East-West German migration: Some first results," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 452-461, April.
    8. Ashok Parikh & Michiel Van Leuvensteijn, 2002. "Internal Migration in Regions of Germany: A Panel Data Analysis," Economics Working Papers 012, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Kuehn, Zoe, 2012. "Migration, Wages, and Parental Background: Obstacles to Entrepreneurship and Growth in East Germany," MPRA Paper 49250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. 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).
    7. Mark Trede & Michael Zimmermann, 2020. "Regional labour migration - Stylized facts for Germany," CQE Working Papers 9320, Center for Quantitative Economics (CQE), University of Muenster.
    8. 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.
    9. 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).
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael C. Burda & Jennifer Hunt, 2001. "From Reunification to Economic Integration: Productivity and the Labor Market in Eastern Germany," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 32(2), pages 1-92.
    2. Juan Carlos Martinez Oliva, 2009. "Riunificazione intertedesca e politiche per la convergenza," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 14, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    3. Snower, Dennis J. & Merkl, Christian, 2006. "The caring hand that cripples: The East German labor market after reunification (detailed version)," Kiel Working Papers 1263, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2006. "Self-Selection and the Returns to Geographic Mobility: What Can Be Learned from the German Reunification "Experiment"," IZA Discussion Papers 2524, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Lutz Schneider & Alexander Kubis, 2010. "Are there Gender-specific Preferences for Location Factors? A Grouped Conditional Logit-Model of Interregional Migration Flows in Germany," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 130(2), pages 143-168.
    6. Mitze, Timo & Reinkowski, Janina, 2010. "Testing the Validity of the Neoclassical Migration Model: Overall and Age-Group Specific Estimation Results for German Spatial Planning Regions," MPRA Paper 23616, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Smolny, Werner, 2010. "Dynamic adjustment and long-run equilibria: Panel data estimates for the East German states," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1223-1229, September.
    8. Herbert Brücker & Parvati Trübswetter, 2007. "Do the best go west? An analysis of the self-selection of employed East-West migrants in Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 371-395, September.
    9. 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.
    10. Christian Merkl & Dennis Snower, 2008. "East German unemployment: the myth of the irrelevant labor market," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 151-165, September.
    11. Kubis, Alexander & Schneider, Lutz, 2007. "Determinants of Female Migration – The Case of German NUTS 3 Regions," IWH Discussion Papers 12/2007, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Erich Gundlach, 2003. "Growth Effects of EU Membership: The Case of East Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 237-270, September.
    13. Stephen Drinkwater, 2003. "Go West? Assessing the willingness to move from Central and Eastern European Countries," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0503, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    14. Timo Mitze, 2012. "Testing the Neoclassical Migration Model: Overall and Age-Group Specific Results for German Regions," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, in: Empirical Modelling in Regional Science, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 53-82, Springer.
    15. Fendel Tanja, 2016. "Migration and Regional Wage Disparities in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(1), pages 3-35, February.
    16. repec:zbw:ifwkwp:1309 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. 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).
    18. Merkl, Christian & Snower, Dennis J., 2008. "Escaping the unemployment trap: The case of East Germany," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 542-556, December.
    19. Uebelmesser Silke, 2006. "To Go or Not to Go: Emigration from Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 211-231, May.
    20. Birk, Angela, 2004. "Sequential Migration, and the German Reunification," Discussion Paper Series 26338, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    21. Michiel Van Leuvensteijn & Ashok Parikh, 2002. "How different are the determinants of population versus labour migration in Germany?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(11), pages 699-703.

    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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:11:y:2004:i:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.