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What Drove the Mass Migrations from Europe in the Late Ninteenth Century

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Author Info

  • Hatton, T.J.
  • Williamson, J.G.

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of overseas mass migration from eleven European countries in the late 19th century. They typically passed through something like a half-century life-cycle: a steep rise in emigration rates from low levels in preindustrial decades, followed by a plateau of very high emigration, and then a subsequent fall during more mature stages of industrialization. Using a new real wage data base, we are able to isolate the impact of economic and demographic forces (associated with the industrial revolution) on this emigration experience. The steep rise in emigration rates was driven mainly by fertility boom and infant mortality decline, events early in the demographic transition which, with a two decade lag, tended to glut the age cohort most responsive to wage gaps between the labor-abundant Old World and the labor-scarce New World. The steep fall in emigration rates was driven mainly by the forces of convergence and catching up -- more rapid real wage growth at home encouraged an increasingly large share to stay at home. Since we show elsewhere that these mass migrations contributed significantly to an impressive late 19th century economic convergence, they can be viewed as an important part of a long run equilibrium adjustment manifested by an evolving global labor market.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Harvard - Institute of Economic Research in its series Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers with number 1614.

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Length: 23 pages
Date of creation: 1992
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:fth:harver:1614

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Keywords: emigration ; historical analysis;

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Cited by:
  1. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2012. "Europe's Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses: Self-Selection and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(5), pages 1832-56, August.
  2. Timothy J. Hatton & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2009. "Vanishing Third World Emigrants?," NBER Working Papers 14785, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Suzan van der Pas & Jacques Poot, 2011. "Migration Paradigm Shifts and Transformation of Migrant Communities: The Case of Dutch Kiwis," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1112, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London.
  4. Leah Platt Boustan, 2008. "Competition in the Promised Land: Black Migration and Racial Wage Convergence in the North, 1940-1970," NBER Working Papers 13813, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Joshua L. Rosenbloom, 1996. "The Extent of the Labor Market in the United States, 1850-1914," NBER Historical Working Papers 0078, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Emmanuel Letouzé & Mark Purser & Francisco Rodríguez & Matthew Cummins, 2009. "Revisiting the Migration-Development Nexus: A Gravity Model Approach," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-44, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Oct 2009.
  7. Ziesemer, Thomas, 2008. "Growth with Endogenous Migration Hump and the Multiple, Dynamically Interacting Effects of Aid in Poor Developing Countries," UNU-MERIT Working Paper Series 057, United Nations University, Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology.
  8. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1998. "Growth, Distribution, and Demography: Some Lessons from History," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 241-271, July.
  9. Lingxin Hao, 2000. "Public Assistance and Private Support of Immigrants," JCPR Working Papers 171, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  10. RobertE. B. Lucas, 2005. "Migration internationale vers les pays à haut revenu : quelles conséquences pour le développement économique des pays d'origine ?," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 19(4), pages 123-171.

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