May 2007

IZA DP No. 2810: East-West Migration and Gender: Is there a “Double Disadvantage” vis-à-vis Stayers?

substantially revised version published as "East-West Migration and Gender: Is There a Differential Effect for Migrant Women?" in: Labour Economics, 2010, 17 (2), 443-454

This paper documents whether female East-West migrants in Germany after the reunification experience a gain or a disadvantage after they moved compared to both stayers and males. It employs panel data techniques to take account of unobserved heterogeneity. I find that migrant women after migration neither experience a drop in relative employment, nor lower relative hourly wages. They do, however, work less hours and have a lower annual income. The results also suggest that for them, the income effect dominates the substitution effect and they substitute market work with home production, specifically with childcare.