Working Paper

To go or not to go: Emigration from Germany

Silke Uebelmesser
CESifo, Munich, 2005

CESifo Working Paper No. 1626

This study analyzes the qualitative aspects of emigration from Germany taking account of economic and non-economic reasons. The reported willingness to emigrate from Germany in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) is explained for men and women by three groups of variables: individual characteristics, household characteristics, and regional characteristics. It turns out that the educational background and West German residency positively affect the willingness to emigrate, whereas German nationality, age, and the family situation are mostly negatively correlated with it.

Keywords: emigration, intention variable, probit estimation, German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP)