Europe's Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses: Self-Selection and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2012
Volume: 102
Issue: 5
Pages: 1832-56

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

During the age of mass migration (1850-1913), one of the largest migration episodes in history, the United States maintained a nearly open border, allowing the study of migrant decisions unhindered by entry restrictions. We estimate the return to migration while accounting for migrant selection by comparing Norway-to-US migrants with their brothers who stayed in Norway in the late nineteenth century. We also compare fathers of migrants and nonmigrants by wealth and occupation. We find that the return to migration was relatively low (70 percent) and that migrants from urban areas were negatively selected from the sending population. (JEL J11, J61, N31, N33)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:102:y:2012:i:5:p:1832-56
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24