Migrants and the Making of America: The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Immigration during the Age of Mass Migration

NBER Working Paper No. 23289

Issued in March 2017

NBER Program(s):Development of the American Economy, Development Economics, International Trade and Investment, Political Economy



We study the effects of European immigration to the United States during the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1920) on economic prosperity today. We exploit variation in the extent of immigration across counties arising from the interaction of fluctuations in aggregate immigrant flows and the gradual expansion of the railway network across the United States. We find that locations with more historical immigration today have higher incomes, less poverty, less unemployment, higher rates of urbanization, and greater educational attainment. The long-run effects appear to arise from the persistence of sizeable short-run benefits, including greater industrialization, increased agricultural productivity, and more innovation.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w23289

Published: Sandra Sequeira & Nathan Nunn & Nancy Qian, 2017. "Migrants and the Making of America: The Shortand Long-Run Effects of Immigration During the Age of Mass Migration," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(3), pages 30-34, October. citation courtesy of

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