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European Migration, National Origin and Long-term Economic Development in the United States

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  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
  • Viola von Berlepsch

Abstract

type="main"> Have Irish, German, or Italian settlers arriving in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century left a trace that determines differences in economic development to this day? Does the national origin of migrants matter for long-term development? This article explores whether the distinct geographic settlement patterns of European migrants according to national origin affected economic development across U.S. counties. It uses microdata from the 1880 and 1910 censuses in order to identify where migrants from different nationalities settled and then regresses current levels of economic development on settlement patterns according to national origin, using both ordinary least squares and instrumental variable approaches. The analysis controls for a number of factors that would have determined the attractiveness of different U.S. counties at the time of migration as well as current levels of development. The results indicate that while there is a strong and positive impact associated with overall migration, differences in the quality of the institutions of the countries of origin of the migrant are not necessarily a good predictor for current levels of economic development of U.S. counties.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola von Berlepsch, 2015. "European Migration, National Origin and Long-term Economic Development in the United States," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(4), pages 393-424, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecgeog:v:91:y:2015:i:4:p:393-424
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    1. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & von Berlepsch, Viola, 2020. "Migration-prone and migration-averse places. Path dependence in long-term migration to the US," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103973, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Viola von Berlepsch & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Neil Lee, 2019. "A woman’s touch? Female migration and economic development in the United States," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 131-145, January.
    3. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    4. Tobias Ketterer & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2015. "Local quality of government and voting with one’s feet," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(2), pages 501-532, December.
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/432sbils8u9t7qa99cii5psht1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Von Berlepsch, Viola, 2017. "Does population diversity matter for economic development in the very long-term? Historic migration, diversity and county wealt," CEPR Discussion Papers 12347, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Abbasiharofteh, Milad & Brökel, Tom, 2022. "Toward a comprehensive measure of socio-cultural diversity: The case of Germany," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Spatial transformation: Processes, strategies, research design, volume 19, pages 87-98, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    8. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2016. "Is There Trickle-Down from Tech? Poverty, Employment, and the High-Technology Multiplier in U.S. Cities," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(5), pages 1114-1134, September.
    9. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc, 2010. "Inherited Trust and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2060-2092, December.
    10. von Berlepsch, Viola & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2019. "The missing ingredient: distance internal migration and its long-term economic impact in the United States," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 91716, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 2019. "Does Population Diversity Matter for Economic Development in the Very Long Term? Historic Migration, Diversity and County Wealth in the US," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 873-911, December.
    12. Silvia Angeloni & Francesco Maria Spano, 2018. "Asylum Seekers in Europe: Issues and Solutions," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 473-495, May.
    13. Philipp Ehrl & Leonardo Monasterio, 2021. "Spatial skill concentration agglomeration economies," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 140-161, January.
    14. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    15. Ye Seul Choi & Up Lim, 2015. "Effects of Regional Creative Milieu on Interregional Migration of the Highly Educated in Korea: Evidence from Hierarchical Cross-Classified Linear Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Von Berlepsch, Viola & Lee, Neil, 2018. "A woman’s touch? Female migration and economic development in the United States," CEPR Discussion Papers 12878, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Timothy J Hatton & Zachary Ward, 2018. "International Migration in the Atlantic Economy 1850 - 1940," CEH Discussion Papers 02, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.

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