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The Entry Into the U.S. Labor Market of Antebellum European Immigrants, 1840-60

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Joseph P. Ferrie
Abstract

This study examines the occupational mobility of antebellum immigrants as they entered the U.S. White collar, skilled, and semi-skilled immigrants left unskilled jobs more rapidly after arrival than farmers and unskilled workers. British and German immigrants fared better than the Irish; literate immigrants in rapidly growing counties and places with many immigrants fared best. These findings have implications for (1) the accuracy of estimates of immigrant occupational mobility; (2) the size of the human capital transfer resulting from antebellum immigration; and (3) the causes of the difficulty experienced by some immigrant groups in transferring their skills to the U.S.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Historical Working Papers with number 0088.

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Date of creation: Jun 1996
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberhi:0088

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth
J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies

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  1. Robert A. Margo, 1990. "Wages and Prices During the Antebellum Period: A Survey and New Evidence," NBER Historical Working Papers 0019, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Hanes, Christopher, 1996. "Immigrants' Relative Rate of Wage Growth in the Late 19th Century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 35-64, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. George J. Borjas, 1986. "The Self-Employment Experience of Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 1942, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Chiswick, Barry R., 1991. "Jewish immigrant skill and occupational attainment at the turn of the century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 64-86, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Carter, Susan B. & Savoca, Elizabeth, 1990. "Labor Mobility and Lengthy Jobs in Nineteenth-Century America," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(01), pages 1-16, March. [Downloadable!]
  6. George J. Borjas, 1994. "The Economics of Immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1667-1717, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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