Full Citation

Title: How do immigrants respond to discrimination? Evidence from Germans in the US during World War I

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: I study the effect of taste-based discrimination on the assimilation decisions of immigrant minorities. Do discriminated minority groups increase their assimilation efforts in order to avoid discrimination and public harassment or do they become alienated and retreat in their own communities? I exploit an exogenous shock to native attitudes, anti-Germanism in the US during World War I, to empirically identify the reactions of German immigrants to increased native hostility using two measures of assimilation efforts: naming patterns and petitions for naturalization. In the face of increased discrimination, Germans increase their assimilation investments by Americanizing their own and their childrens names and filing more petitions for US citizenship. Heterogeneity results suggest that these responses are stronger for immigrants who are initially more invested in the host society.

Url: https://people.stanford.edu/vfouka/sites/default/files/antigermanismapril2017.pdf

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Authors: Fouka, Vasiliki

Publisher: Stanford University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Race and Ethnicity

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