Workshop on Forced Migration and Economic Legacies

About the workshop

Forced migrations are major economic shocks with enduring consequences for host and origin regions through labor markets, housing, public finance, human capital accumulation, and long-run development. This workshop brings together economists and economic historians working on the economic impact of forced migrations. Historical episodes – especially but not exclusively in Europe – provide rich quasi-experimental settings for studying adjustment dynamics and long-run persistence. The workshop aims to bring together scholars interested in different aspects of forced migrations and discuss implications for understanding the phenomenon in historical and contemporary settings.

Keynote speaker

Andreas Ferrara (Associate Professor of Economics, University of Pittsburgh; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research; Research Fellow, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin). Andreas Ferrara’s research focuses on economic history, labor economics, political economy, migration, discrimination, and causal inference in long-run economic outcomes.

Topics

We invite submissions on all aspects of forced migration and displacement, including but not limited to:

1) Host- and origin-economy effects

• Wage and employment impacts
• Occupational and sectoral reallocation
• Housing, land markets, and urban structure
• Local public finance and provision of public goods
• Firm dynamics, productivity, entrepreneurship

 2) Outcomes for displaced populations

• Earnings, education, and intergenerational mobility
• Health, demographic behavior, and well-being
• Integration, networks, segregation, discrimination

 3) Institutions and political economy

• Property rights, restitution, and land reform
• Refugee settlement and integration policies
• Social cohesion, conflict, political behavior, and state capacity

 4) Data and methods

• Use of historical microdata and administrative sources
• Quasi-experimental designs
• Linking historical shocks to contemporary outcomes

Papers may focus on any region or period; comparative and cross-country work is welcome.

Format

The workshop will be single-track with a limited number of presentations and substantial discussion time per paper (including formal discussants). Work in progress and early-stage research are welcome; the emphasis is on feedback and intellectual exchange.

Submission

Please submit either:

• a full paper, or
• an extended abstract (800-1000 words).

Submission: Please send a paper or an extended abstract to luka.miladinovic@gu.se with subject: Forced Migration and Economic Legacies. 

Important dates

Submission deadline: 28 February 2026.

Notification of acceptance by 15 March 2026.

Workshop dates: 6–7 May 2025 

Funding

We are able to offer accommodation for the nights of the 5 and 6 May to all participants as well as all meals. Limited funding for travel expenses for early scholars (PhD and postdoc) is available upon request.

Organizers & contact

Luka MIladinovic, University of Gothenburg – luka.miladinovic@gu.se 
Anna Missiaia, University of Gothenburg – anna.missiaia@gu.se