eprintid: 10086419 rev_number: 26 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/08/64/19 datestamp: 2019-11-21 10:39:37 lastmod: 2020-09-09 11:36:23 status_changed: 2020-09-09 11:36:23 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Voigtlaender, N creators_name: Becker, S creators_name: Grosfeld, I creators_name: Grosjean, P creators_name: Zhuravskaya, E title: Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: A01 divisions: B03 divisions: C03 divisions: F24 note: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: We study the long-run effects of forced migration on investment in education. After World War II, millions of Poles were forcibly uprooted from the Kresy territories of eastern Poland and resettled ( primarily) in the newly acquired Western Territories, from which the Germans were expelled. We combine historical censuses with newly collected survey data to show that, while there were no pre-WWII differences in educational attainment, Poles with a family history of forced migration are significantly more educated today than other Poles. These results are driven by a shift in preferences away from material possessions toward investment in human capital. date: 2020-05 date_type: published publisher: American Economic Association official_url: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181518 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1720812 doi: 10.1257/aer.20181518 lyricists_name: Voigtlaender, Nico lyricists_id: NVOIG23 actors_name: Voigtlaender, Nico actors_id: NVOIG23 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: The American Economic Review volume: 110 number: 5 pagerange: 1430-1463 citation: Voigtlaender, N; Becker, S; Grosfeld, I; Grosjean, P; Zhuravskaya, E; (2020) Forced Migration and Human Capital: Evidence from Post-WWII Population Transfers. The American Economic Review , 110 (5) pp. 1430-1463. 10.1257/aer.20181518 <https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181518>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10086419/1/Voigtlaender_aer.20181518.pdf