Full Citation

Title: A New View of the Irish in America: Economic Performance and the Impact of Place of Origin, 1850-1920

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 1997

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Abstract: Though we now know a great deal about both the population that left Ireland in the Great Famine and the years following and the population of Irish immigrants in America, an important connection between these sets of facts has been lacking: an understanding of how immigrants circumstances at departure influenced their subsequent economic performance in the U.S. This essay attempts to bridge this gap by offering new evidence on the impact of immigrants place of origin within Ireland on geographic mobility, occupational attainment, and wealth accumulation in the U.S. It uses immigrants surnames to determine their place of origin in Ireland. The findings reveal substantially better performance among the Ulster Irish (particularly the Scots Irish) in the 1850s, but this advantage narrowed over the late 19 century and was eliminated by 1920. The changes in the places producing the best-performing immigrants appear to reflect changes over the period 1850-1920 in the economic circumstances of those places: relatively better conditions in Ireland produced relatively better-performing immigrants.

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Authors: Ferrie, Joseph

Conference Name: "The Scattering: Ireland and the Irish Diaspora--A Comparative Perspective"

Publisher Location: University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration, Race and Ethnicity

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