Immigrants and the making of America

Sequeira, Sandra, Nunn, Nathan and Qian, Nancy (2020) Immigrants and the making of America. Review of Economic Studies, 87 (1). pp. 382-419. ISSN 0034-6527

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Abstract

We study the effects of European immigration to the U.S. during the Age of Mass Migration (1850–1920) on economic prosperity. Exploiting cross-county variation in immigration that arises from the interaction of fluctuations in aggregate immigrant flows and of the gradual expansion of the railway network, we find that counties with more historical immigration have higher income, less poverty, less unemployment, higher rates of urbanization, and greater educational attainment today. The long-run effects seem to capture the persistence of short-run benefits, including greater industrialization, increased agricultural productivity, and more innovation.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://academic.oup.com/restud
Additional Information:	© 2019 The Author(s)
Divisions:	International Development
JEL classification:	B - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches > B52 - Institutional; Evolutionary F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F22 - International Migration O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General
Date Deposited:	15 May 2019 15:15
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2024 06:45
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/100819

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