Habit Formation and the Misallocation of Labor: Evidence from Forced Migrations
利用二战后芬兰强制迁移的自然实验，研究发现迁移增加了农村人口转向非农工作和迁往城市的概率，从而提高了长期收入，但降低了城市迁移者的收入，且习惯形成是主要解释机制。
Abstract We use a research design created by forced migrations to examine the costs and benefits of leaving agriculture in mid-20th century Finland. After World War II, 11% of the Finnish population was resettled from areas ceded to the Soviet Union. Entire rural communities were moved to locations that resembled the origin areas, and displaced farmers were given land and assistance to establish new farms. Despite this policy of reconstructing the pre-war situation, forced migration increased the likelihood of switching to non-agricultural jobs and moving to urban areas. Consequently, forced migration also increased the long-term income of the displaced rural population. By contrast, forced migration decreased the income of the resettled urban population. We examine the extent to which these effects can be explained by the quality of the new farms, human capital investments, networks, and discrimination, but do not find evidence supporting these mechanisms. Instead, we argue that habit formation toward residential locations provides the most compelling rationalization for our results.