Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital Under Post-War Distress: The Displaced and the Roma in the Former Yugoslavia

40 Pages Posted: 16 Aug 2010

See all articles by Martin Kahanec

Martin Kahanec

IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Central European University; Central European Labour Studies Institute

Mutlu Yuksel

IZA; Dalhousie University

Abstract

In this chapter, we investigate the effects of vulnerability on income and employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia using a unique 2004 UNDP dataset. Treating the collapse of the former Yugoslavia as a natural experiment, we compare three groups that have been differently affected by the wars and post-war distress: the majority as the benchmark, the ex-ante and ex-post vulnerable Roma people, and the ex-ante equal but ex-post vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people (RIDPs). Our findings reveal significant negative effects of vulnerability on income and employment. RIDPs seem to be about as negatively affected as Roma across the four states, which indicate that vulnerability inflicted by relatively recent displacement may have similar effects as vulnerability rooted deep in the past. When we look at education as one of the key determinants of socio-economic outcomes, both groups exhibit similarly substandard educational outcomes of children and significant inertia in intergenerational transfer of human capital. Our findings highlight the need for policies that not only tackle vulnerability as such, but address the spillover effects of current vulnerability on future educational attainment.

Keywords: vulnerability, labor market, education, Roma, refugees, internally displaced people, discrimination, integration

JEL Classification: I21, I12, J24, N34

Suggested Citation

Kahanec, Martin and Yuksel, Mutlu and Yuksel, Mutlu, Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital Under Post-War Distress: The Displaced and the Roma in the Former Yugoslavia. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5108, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1659087 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1659087

Martin Kahanec (Contact Author)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Central European University ( email )

Nador utca 9
Budapest, H-1051
Hungary

Central European Labour Studies Institute ( email )

Zvolenská 29
Bratislava, 82109
Slovakia

HOME PAGE: http://www.celsi.sk

Mutlu Yuksel

IZA ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Dalhousie University ( email )

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://myweb.dal.ca/mt899590/

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