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Barriers to humanitarian migration, victimisation and integration outcomes: evidence from Germany

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  • Freitas-Monteiro, Teresa
  • Ludolph, Lars

Abstract

In this paper, we link the peril of asylum seekers’ migratory journey to economically quantifiable outcomes in the destination country using refugee survey data from Germany collected in the aftermath of the 2015 refugee crisis. We start by showing that, accounting for selection effects, physical victimisation during the journey to Germany is strongly associated with significantly lower mental well-being and general health upon arrival in the destination. The physical victimisation experience severely distorts the human capital investment decision by leading affected refugees to favour joining the labour force and engaging in part-time and marginal employment over pursuing host-country education. We place our findings into both the psychiatric and experimental economic literature, which suggest that experiencing physical trauma in vulnerable situations results in a "loss of future directedness" or "impatience" among the victimised, leading them to discount future payoffs more heavily.

Suggested Citation

  • Freitas-Monteiro, Teresa & Ludolph, Lars, 2021. "Barriers to humanitarian migration, victimisation and integration outcomes: evidence from Germany," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110500, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:110500
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/110500/
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    Cited by:

    1. Ludolph, Lars, 2023. "The value of formal host-country education for the labour market position of refugees: Evidence from Austria," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Lars Ludolph, 2021. "The Value of Formal Host-Country Education for the Labour Market Position of Refugees: Evidence from Austria," CESifo Working Paper Series 9241, CESifo.
    3. Ludolph, Lars, 2023. "The value of formal host-country education for the labour market position of refugees: evidence from Austria," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117392, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    refugees; victimisation; labour market integration; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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