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Displacement, Diversity, and Mobility: Career Impacts of Japanese American Internment

Author

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  • Arellano-Bover, Jaime

Abstract

In 1942 more than 110,000 persons of Japanese origin living on the U.S. West Coast were forcibly sent away to ten internment camps for one to three years. This paper studies how internees’ careers were affected in the long run. Combining Census data, camp records, and survey data, I develop a predictor of a person’s internment status based on Census observables. Using a difference-in-differences framework, I find that internment had long-run positive effects on earnings. The evidence is consistent with mechanisms related to increased mobility due to re-optimization of occupation and location choices, possibly facilitated by camps’ high economic diversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Arellano-Bover, Jaime, 2022. "Displacement, Diversity, and Mobility: Career Impacts of Japanese American Internment," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(1), pages 126-174, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:82:y:2022:i:1:p:126-174_4
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    Cited by:

    1. Barrera, Sergio E. & Ferrara, Andreas & Fishback, Price V. & Heggeness, Misty L., 2025. "The impact of World War II Army service on income and mobility in the 1960s by ethnoracial group," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    2. Kok, Chun Chee & Lim, Gedeon & Shariat, Danial & Siddique, Abu & Tsuda, Shunsuke, 2025. "Interethnic Proximity and Political Development," IZA Discussion Papers 17776, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Grossman, Daniel & Khalil, Umair & Panza, Laura, 2025. "The Intergenerational Health Effects of Forced Displacement: Japanese American Incarceration during WWII," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    4. Chen, Shuo & Xie, Bin, 2024. "Institutional discrimination and assimilation: Evidence from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Chan, Jeff, 2023. "Forced displacement and migrants' location choices: Evidence from the Japanese-Canadian experience during World War II," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 206-240.
    6. Chen, Shuo & Xie, Bin, 2020. "Institutional Discrimination and Assimilation: Evidence from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882," IZA Discussion Papers 13647, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Vitor Possebom, 2021. "Crime and Mismeasured Punishment: Marginal Treatment Effect with Misclassification," Papers 2106.00536, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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