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Migration and Knowledge Diffusion: The Effect of Returning Refugees on Export Performance in the Former Yugoslavia

Author

Listed:
  • Dany Bahar

    (Brown University, Harvard CID, CESifo, and IZA)

  • Andreas Hauptmann

    (Institute for Employment Research)

  • Cem Özgüzel

    (OECD)

  • Hillel Rapoport

    (Paris School of Economics, University of Paris, and Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Abstract

During the early 1990s, Germany offered temporary protection to 700,000 Yugoslavian refugees fleeing war. By 2000, many had been repatriated. We exploit this natural experiment to investigate the role of returning migrants in boosting export performance upon their return. Using confidential German administrative data, we find that industries with 10% more returning refugees exhibit larger exports between the pre- and postwar periods by 1% to 1.6%. We use exogenous allocation rules for asylum seekers within Germany as an instrument to deal with endogeneity concerns. We show evidence pointing to productivity shifts as the main mechanism behind our results. Consistently, we find our results are driven by refugees in occupations more likely to transfer knowledge, technologies, and best practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Dany Bahar & Andreas Hauptmann & Cem Özgüzel & Hillel Rapoport, 2024. "Migration and Knowledge Diffusion: The Effect of Returning Refugees on Export Performance in the Former Yugoslavia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(2), pages 287-304, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:106:y:2024:i:2:p:287-304
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01165
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    Cited by:

    1. Ina Ganguli & Fabian Waldinger, 2024. "War and Science in Ukraine," Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 165-188.
    2. Exadaktylos, Dimitrios & Riccaboni, Massimo & Rungi, Armando, 2024. "Talents from abroad. Foreign managers and productivity in the United Kingdom," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Shakib, Mohammed & Sohag, Kazi & Hassan, M. Kabir & Vasilyeva, Rogneda, 2023. "Finance and export diversifications Nexus in Russian regions: Role of trade globalization and regional potential," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Mickael Melki & Hillel Rapoport & Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2024. "Cultural Remittances and Modern Fertility," NBER Working Papers 32990, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Annalisa Tassi, 2024. "Do community needs affect the decision to volunteer? The case of refugees in Germany," Working Papers 238, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    6. Catia Batista & David Costa & Pedro Freitas & Goncalo Lima & Ana Reis, 2024. "What Matters for the Decision to Study Abroad? A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Cape Verde," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2413, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    7. Palsson, Craig, 2023. "The forces of path dependence: Haiti's refugee camps, 1937–2009," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    8. Xianru Han & Wenying Li & Haoluan Wang, 2024. "A Burning Issue: Wildfire Smoke Exposure, Retail Sales, and Demand for Adaptation in Healthcare," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(11), pages 3011-3039, November.
    9. Mustafa Özer & Jan Fidrmuc, 2024. "Does Immigration Affect the Natives’ Mental Health? Causal Evidence from Forced Syrian Migration to Turkey," CESifo Working Paper Series 11399, CESifo.

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