Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/124182 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
QUCEH Working Paper Series No. 15-08
Publisher: 
Queen's University Centre for Economic History (QUCEH), Belfast
Abstract: 
The large-scale persecution of Jews during World War II generated massive refugee movements. Using data from 20,441 predominantly Jewish passengers from 19 countries traveling from Lisbon to New York between 1940 and 1942, we analyze the last wave of refugees escaping the Holocaust and verify the validity of height as a proxy for human and health capital. We further show this episode of European migration displays well-known features of migrant self-selection: early migrants were taller than late migrants; a large migrant stock reduces migrant selectivity; and economic barriers to migration apply. Our findings show that Europe experienced substantial losses in human and health capital while the US benefitted from the immigration of European refugees.
Subjects: 
migration
refugees
World War II
Holocaust
Germany
New York
JEL: 
N32
N34
N42
N44
F22
J24
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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