Full Citation

Title: The Effects of Immigration on the Economy: Lessons from the 1920s Border Closure

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2019

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.3386/w26536

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: In the 1920s, the United States substantially reduced immigrant entry by imposing country- specific quotas. We compare local labor markets with more or less exposure to the national quotas due to differences in initial immigrant settlement. A puzzle emerges: the earnings of existing US-born workers declined after the border closure, despite the loss of immigrant labor supply. We find that more skilled US-born workers – along with unrestricted immigrants from Mexico and Canada – moved into affected urban areas, completely replacing European immigrants. By contrast, the loss of immigrant workers encouraged farmers to shift toward capital-intensive agriculture and discouraged entry from unrestricted workers.

Url: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26536.pdf

Url: http://www.nber.org/papers/w26536.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Abramitzky, Ran; Ager, Philipp; Boustan, Leah Platt; Cohen, Elior; Hansen, Casper

Series Title: NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES

Publication Number: NBER

Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research

Pages: 31

Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration

Countries: United States