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Missing Men

Second World War Casualties and Structural Change

Bibliographic Data

ID9727129
AuthorsChristoph Eder (0000-0002-7448-009X, Independent researcher, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume89
Issue354
Pages437-460
Publication date2022-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0427 • E-ISSN: 1468-0335
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ecca.12408
OpenAlexW4210935668
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited40

A large literature has documented the persistent effects of historic events. This paper studies the effects of a historical demographic shock, documenting persistent effects that are historically contingent. I exploit military Second World War (WWII) casualties in Austrian municipalities as a natural experiment for a negative population shock, and study the economic consequences until today. In the short run, WWII casualties lead to structural transformation: labour is reallocated from agriculture towards manufacturing. This effect persists for decades. But instead of more economic development in the long run, WWII casualties led to a lower concentration of jobs and lower wages today. A more detailed analysis shows that in high‐casualty municipalities, employment increased predominantly in low‐skill industries within manufacturing, and these municipalities missed out on the transition to the service sector around the turn of the century

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · First world war · Military service · Political science · Population · Shock (circulatory) · Sociology · World War II · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Demography · Economic Policies and Impacts · History · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year1
Citation span2024 - 2025 (2)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
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