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Title: Cultural Assimilation during the Age of Mass Migration

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2014

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Abstract: We explore cultural assimilation of European immigrants during the US during the Age of Mass Migration. First generation immigrants exhibit a strong tendency toward in-group marriage, which weakens by the second generation. At the same time, there is sizeable variation in the endogamy rate across countries of origin, with the strongest by Italians and the weakest by the Scots. On average, immigrant parents chose less foreign-sounding names for sons as they spend more time in the US (proxied by birth order); this pattern is muted for daughters, sons born abroad or sons of native-born parents. By this metric, German, Russian, and Scandinavian immigrants exhibit near-complete naming convergence with natives, while other groups particularly Italian and Irish immigrants retain distinctive naming patterns. Men given foreign names earned less than comparable sons of immigrant parents in 1940.

Url: http://www.eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Boustan.pdf

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Authors: Abramitzky, Ran; Boustan, Leah

Conference Name: Economic History Association Annual Meetings

Publisher Location: Columbus, Ohio

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other, Race and Ethnicity

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