RFBerlin Podcast Series

In this episode of Working Papers, host Tim Phillips sits down with Prof. Alexandra Spitz-Oener (Deputy Director of RFBerlin) and Prof. Jan Nimczik (Project Leader at RFBerlin) to ask why so many people stay put, even when a better job might be waiting somewhere else.

The job market is being reshaped by AI, automation and the green transition, and the shocks rarely fall evenly: some regions lose a huge share of their jobs while others are barely touched. In theory, people move to where the work is. In practice, they mostly don't. After German reunification, only 3 to 4% of displaced East German workers moved west within five years, despite higher wages, recognised qualifications, a shared language and relocation subsidies all pointing that way. Why?

Using the natural experiment of reunification and detailed GDR records, Spitz-Oener, Nimczik and Hansch show that the answer is information, and a very specific kind of it. What moved people wasn't neighbours, or friends, or even former colleagues in general. It was a former coworker who did the same job and had already made it in the West. Generic advice to "get on your bike"* and move to the jobs doesn't work, because it can't tell you whether you'll actually make it there. The finding reaches well beyond 1989: as remote work thins out the ties we once formed at the workplace, the information gap those networks used to fill only grows, and the researchers argue that AI-era job platforms could be built to close it.

Resource mentioned in the episode:
📄 If They Made It, I Can Make It: Workplace Connections and Labour Migration, by Michelle Hansch, Jan Nimczik and Alexandra Spitz-Oener (RFBerlin Discussion Paper No. 7725, 2025)

Learn more about the work of RFBerlin at rfberlin.com.

*"On your bike" is a famously British expression, that dates to a 1981 speech by Conservative minister Norman Tebbit, whose unemployed father, he said, "got on his bike and looked for work." It came to stand for the idea that the jobless should simply go where the work is.

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In this episode of Working Papers, host Tim Phillips sits down with Prof. Tommaso Frattini (Deputy Director of CReAM at RFBerlin) and Dr. Giacomo Battiston (Senior Research Officer at RFBerlin) to look at what happens before someone decides to migrate. 

Anyone who migrates weighs the costs against the benefits: a journey that can cost thousands USD and carry real risk of violence, set against the promise of higher wages or simply safety. But do people know the true odds before they set out? And when governments respond with tougher borders or information campaigns, does any of it change the decision, or just move it somewhere else?

Drawing on a field experiment with students in Guinea and on evidence from Europe's borders, Frattini and Battiston show that migration isn't a single choice but a chain of them. Better information can genuinely shift the decision: when potential migrants learn the real risks, many become less willing to go. Enforcement is more slippery. When the EU-Turkey deal closed the Eastern Mediterranean route in 2016, migrants didn't stop; within months they reappeared on the deadlier Central Mediterranean crossing. A policy that looks like a success at one border can leave the overall picture unchanged, and the journey more dangerous. As the researchers put it, migration is an investment, costs borne now for benefits hoped for later, sometimes for one's children rather than oneself. To know whether a policy works, you have to follow the whole journey, not just count arrivals at one border.

Resources mentioned in the episode:
📄 Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Guinea, by Giacomo Battiston, Lucia Corno and Eliana La Ferrara
📄 Securing European Borders: Enforcement, Politics and Externalization, by Francesco Fasani and Tommaso Frattini
📄 Rescue on Stage: Border Enforcement and Public Attention in the Mediterranean Sea, by Giacomo Battiston

Learn more about migration research at the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM) at RFBerlin.

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In this episode of Migration Talks, researchers Sandra Sequeira (London School of Economics) and Dominik Hangartner (ETH Zurich) take us into two very different contexts  with surprising parallels. From post-conflict displacement in Mozambique to internal migration policies in post-war Finland, the conversation explores what drives people to move, and what happens when that movement is shaped less by choice than by circumstance.

How does displacement affect long-term human capital? What incentives and policies help or hinder new beginnings? And how do people reconstruct lives, communities, and futures when they’re uprooted?

This episode offers a comparative perspective on forced migration, resettlement, and the enduring resilience of people navigating constrained choices.

Resources mentioned in the episode:
📄 Forced Displacement and Human Capital: Evidence from Separated Siblings, by Giorgio Chiovelli, Stelios Michalopoulos, Elias Papaioannou, and Sandra Sequeira (NBER Working Paper)

📄 The Intergenerational Effects of Forced Migration on Human Capital and Personality Traits, by Dominik Hangartner et al.

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In this episode of Migration Talks, Professor Leah Boustan (Princeton University) explores what shapes upward mobility for immigrants and who actually gets to rise.

Using research, historical records, big data and today’s technology, Boustan takes us through the story of how immigrants and their children find their path. What do we get wrong when we idealize past success stories? How do today’s children of immigrants compare to previous generations? And what role do education, neighborhoods and policy play in shaping long-term outcomes?

Resources mentioned:
Book: Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success (Leah Boustan & Ran Abramitzky)
Research: Computational analysis of 140 years of US political speeches
reveals more positive but increasingly polarized framing of
immigration by Boustan et al.

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In this episode, Panu Poutvaara (ifo Center for Migration and Development Economics) and Damla Buyuktaskin (UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency) discuss what happens after displacement: who returns, who stays, and why?

Focusing on Ukrainian refugees and broader global contexts, they discuss what influences return intentions, how host countries support (or hinder) integration, and the challenges of creating long-term solutions for displaced populations. From access to work and education to regional legal frameworks, this conversation lists difficult choices faced by millions.

Resources mentioned in the episode:
📄 Study: The Effect of Conflict on Ukrainian Refugees’ Return Intentions and Integration Outcomes (Poutvaara et al.)

🌐 UNHCR Programs: https://www.unhcr.org

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In this episode, Christian Dustmann (UCL, RFBerlin) and Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan, RFBerlin) discuss the politics of EU border control. As headlines increasingly focus on “securing borders,” they ask: Are these efforts really addressing the underlying challenges, or are they shaped more by public perception and political pressure?

From shifting migration routes to policy trade-offs between security and economic needs, this conversation offers timely insights into one of Europe’s most debated topics.

Resources mentioned in the episode:
📘 Global Migration Information Dashboard
📄 "Border Policies and Unauthorized Flows" by Francesca Fasani & Tommaso Frattini

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In this podcast episode dedicated to the new edition of the Handbook of Labor Economics, Professor Suresh Naidu from Columbia University discusses the recent resurgence of union power, for example, in the context of the successful United Auto Workers (UAW) strike in 2023. 

The conversation highlights several key points with policy implications: Do unions affect inequality? How effective is union membership? Do they protect the rights and the benefits of union members, or do they have spillover effects in the rest of the labour market? 

Professor Naidu takes a historical perspective and discusses the shift in the balance of power between employers and workers over the 20th century, up to the post-COVID era, characterized by a tight labour market and high corporate profits. He argues that the spillover effects of union-negotiated contracts can raise wages even for non-union workers, suggesting that a stronger union presence could be a tool for addressing income inequality on a broader scale.

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In this podcast episode dedicated to the new edition of the Handbook of Labor Economics, Professor Stephen Machin from the London School of Economics discusses the recent advances in the Economics of Crime. 

What are the economic consequences of crime on society? What is the impact of crime on victims? Professor Machin illustrates how better administrative data has helped quantify the labour market and psychological effects of crime and has shown how such effects are long-lasting. Improved estimates of the costs of crime can inform more effective policy decisions, potentially guiding the prioritization of resource allocation for crime reduction.

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In this podcast episode dedicated to the new edition of the Handbook of Labor Economics, Professor Katherine Shaw from Stanford Graduate School of Business discusses the recent advances in Personnel Economics and, in particular, the role of managers. 
What do managers do, how do they do it, and what is their impact on workers’ productivity? She explains that good managers can significantly boost team productivity, equivalent to adding an extra team member. Her research highlights that effective management is crucial for employee retention and satisfaction, especially during economic downturns. 

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In this podcast episode dedicated to the new edition of the Handbook of Labor Economics, professors Barbara Petrongolo and Jessica Pan discuss the progress and ongoing challenges in achieving gender equality in the labor market.

Which policies have been more effective in narrowing the gender gap over the last 50 years? They highlight the significant progress made in reducing the wage gap and increasing female participation. However, they point out persistent issues like the motherhood penalty, occupational segregation and barriers in the organization of work.
Effective policies have included childcare support, although longer parental leaves have shown limited success. Both emphasize the role of Claudia Goldin's pioneering work to advance our understanding of the historical and economic factors driving gender convergence and the persistent inequalities that remain.
 

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