Immigrants and the Making of America

• Sandra Sequeira ^[1] ; Nathan Nunn ^[2] ; Nancy Qian ^[3]
  1. [1] London School of Economics and Political Science

     London School of Economics and Political Science

     Reino Unido

     
  2. [2] Harvard University

     Harvard University

     City of Cambridge, Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] Northwestern Kellogg MEDS

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• Localización: Review of economic studies, ISSN 0034-6527, Vol. 87, Nº 1, 2020, págs. 382-419
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • 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.