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The American Frontier: Technology versus Immigration

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Abstract

What drove western population growth in the U.S. during the 19th century? The facts are: (i) Natural increase was higher in the West than in the East; and (ii) in the early stages of the settlement process, net migration could account for up to 80% of population growth in some regions. A general equilibrium model is proposed, with three ingredients: endogenous fertility, investment in land, and migration. The relative abundance of land in the West promotes higher fertility. The model is simulated. It accounts well for the time-series decomposition of population growth between migration and fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2004. "The American Frontier: Technology versus Immigration," Economie d'Avant Garde Research Reports 7, Economie d'Avant Garde.
    • Handle: RePEc:eag:rereps:7
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    Cited by:

    1. Alex Mourmouras & Peter Rangazas, 2009. "Reconciling Kuznets and Habbakuk in a unified growth theory," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 149-181, June.
    2. Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner & Karen A. Kopecky, 2019. "The Wife's Protector: A Quantitative Theory Linking Contraceptive Technology with the Decline in Marriage," Economie d'Avant Garde Research Reports 31, Economie d'Avant Garde.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Population growth; migration; fertility; westward expansion;

    JEL classification:

    • E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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