Full Citation

Title: Structural Change and Internal Labor Migration: Evidence from the Great Depression

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2021

ISBN:

ISSN: 0034-6535

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01116

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: We analyze sectoral labor reallocation and the reversal of urbanization in the U.S. during the Great Depression. The widespread movement to farms, which serves as a form of migratory insurance during the crisis, is largely towards farms with low levels of mechanization. In contrast, the mechanized agricultural sector sheds workers, many of whom reallocate into low-productivity or subsistence farming. The crisis perverts the normal process of structural change—in which workers displaced by farm equipment are released into more productive occupations—suggesting that macroeconomic fluctuations are an important factor determining the labor market consequences of technological change.

Url: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01116

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Authors: Boone, Christopher D. A.; Wilse-Samson, Laurence

Periodical (Full): The Review of Economics and Statistics

Issue: 4

Volume: 105

Pages: 962-981

Data Collections: IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data, IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Land Use/Urban Organization

Countries: