Full Citation

Title: The Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on the U.S. Economy

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2022

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Abstract: This paper studies the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration to the United States after 1882, across U.S. counties between 1870 and 1940. We find that the Act reduced labor supply for both the Chinese and other groups (i.e., white and non-white natives and immigrants). The drop in Chinese and non-Chinese labor supply was driven by both skilled and unskilled workers, and occurred across all major economic sectors. The Act lowered income for all workers, and caused a sharp contraction in manufacturing, mining and agriculture. The results imply that Chinese and other workers were complements in economic production and the exclusion of the Chinese had a negative impact on economic development of the Western United States. Many negative effects lasted until at least 1940.

Url: https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication Files/23-008_ff452f33-bb64-4e13-82a0-89dce7acfeca.pdf

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Authors: Long, Joe; Medici, Carlo; Qian, Nancy; Tabellini, Marco

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Publication Number: 23-008

Institution: Harvard Business School

Pages: 1-53

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration

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