The Impact of September 11th, 2001 on the Employment Prospects of Arabs and Muslims in the German Labor Market

Summary This paper examines whether the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001 have influenced the job prospects of persons from predominantly Muslim countries in the German labor market. The paper uses a large, representative database of the German working population drawn from administrative sources and forms treatment and control groups based on current nationality. Evidence from regression-adjusted difference-in-differences estimates, estimated by piecewise constant exponential duration models, indicates that 9/11 did not cause a severe decline in job prospects for individuals with a nationality from a predominantly Muslim country. This result is robust when looking at Turks, individuals with a nationality from an Arab country and individuals from Non-Arab, but predominantly Muslim countries relative to a number of control groups. It is also in line with prior evidence from Sweden and England.