Full Citation

Title: Migration and Mobility during the Dust Bowl

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2021

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: The American Dust Bowl during the thirties conjured images of despair and penury, highlighted by the plight of newly-minted refugees fleeing storms and destroyed ecosystems. I utilize a census-linking approach to create a dataset linking people in the Great Plains region and their migratory responses from 1920 to 1940. By using a difference-in-differences as well as a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach, I look at how the Dust Bowl induced changes in migratory responses, selection and outcomes for those living in the Great Plains region. I find that migration rates were higher in the Dust Bowl regions, particularly in counties that experienced high levels of soil erosion. However, I only find modest changes in migrant selectivity and outcomes for Dust Bowl migrants. Interestingly, I find that migration to California increased, as did migrant selectivity and outcomes, providing some context to the westward migratory flows. Contrary to popular opinion, there was not a drastic mass exodus of poor farmers, and there were no drastic changes in migratory responses as a result of the Dust Bowl.

Url: https://www.sas.rochester.edu/eco/undergraduate/papers/ramesh---dust-bowl,-2021.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Ramesh, Arun

Institution: University of Rochester

Department: Economics

Advisor:

Degree:

Publisher Location:

Pages: 1-45

Data Collections: IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Population Mobility and Spatial Demography

Countries: