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Borders and Population Growth: Evidence from a Century of Border Regime Changes on the Austrian-Czech Border

Author

Listed:
  • Lucie Coufalová

    (Masaryk University Brno)

  • Fanny Dellinger

    (WIFO)

  • Peter Huber
  • Stepan Mikula

    (Institute for the Study of Labor)

Abstract

We analyse the impacts of three major unexpected border regime changes that occurred during the course of 20th century on population growth along the Austrian-Czech border. Using historical municipal-level census data reaching back to 1880, we find no effects of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1919) but strong and oppositely signed effects of the drawing (1948) and the fall (1989) of the Iron Curtain in both countries. Our findings indicate that border regimes affect population growth via economic as well as non-economic mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucie Coufalová & Fanny Dellinger & Peter Huber & Stepan Mikula, 2024. "Borders and Population Growth: Evidence from a Century of Border Regime Changes on the Austrian-Czech Border," WIFO Working Papers 680, WIFO.
    • Handle: RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2024:i:680
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Population growth; border regions; economic geography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N94 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: 1913-
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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