No Place for Young Women? The Impact of Internal Migration on Adult Sex Ratios in Rural East Germany

Nico Stawarz
Matthias Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Uta Brehm, Federal Institute for Population Research
Nikola Sander , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

Shortages of women in rural areas are a phenomenon in many highly urbanized countries. Rural East Germany is an ideal case to study this phenomenon, because of its low adult sex ratios (ASRs) – men greatly outnumber women – coupled with high out-migration among young adults. This study researches how internal migration between rural and urban areas contributes to the shortage of young adult women. We use data on inter-county migration flows (years 2002–2021) to decompose the impacts of migration on ASRs. We find that the low ASRs in rural East Germany are due to sex-selective migration. The main destination of these sex-selective flows was West Germany in the early 2000s, while in the 2010s urban areas in the East were the important destinations. We find that movements among 20–24-year-olds increase the shortage of women in the rural population, while the 25–29-year-olds contribute to more balanced ASRs.

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 Presented in Session P3. Migration, Economics, Policies, History