Full Citation

Title: Southern (American) Hospitality: Italians in Argentina and the US during the Age of Mass Migration

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2019

ISBN:

ISSN: 0898-2937

DOI: 10.3386/w26127

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: Italians were the largest contributors to the rise in southern European immigration that took place in the US at the turn of the 20th century. This rise fueled anti-immigrant sentiments which concluded with the US abandoning its open-door policy for European immigrants. I study the selection and economic outcomes of Italians in Argentina and the US, the two largest destinations for Italians in this period. Prior cross-sectional work shows that Italians had faster assimilation in Argentina, but is inconclusive on whether this was due to differences in selection or to differences in host-country conditions. I assemble data following Italians from passenger lists to population censuses, enabling me to compare migrants with similar regional origins and pre-migration characteristics. First-and second-generation Italians had better economic outcomes in Argentina. Observable pre-migration characteristics cannot explain these differences. Path dependence in migration flows can rationalize these differences in an era of open borders.

Url: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26127

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Pérez, Santiago

Series Title: Working Paper

Publication Number: 26127

Institution: IZA

Pages:

Publisher Location: Bonn

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other

Countries: