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Immigration, Industrial Revolution and Urban Growth in the United States, 1820-1920: Factor Endowments, Technology and Geography

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  • Sukkoo Kim

Abstract

Industrial revolution is fundamentally linked with the rise of factories and the decline of skilled artisans in manufacturing. Most scholars agree that factories as compared to artisan shops were intensive in unskilled labor. Indeed, the hallmark of the early factories is the utilization of division of labor of relatively unskilled workers. This paper explores whether the massive influx of unskilled immigrants between 1840 and 1920, by significantly increasing the ratio of unskilled to skilled labor endowment, contributed to the growth and spread of factory manufacturing in the United States. The data indicate that immigration not only contributed to the growth and spread of factories but it also contributed to the growth of cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sukkoo Kim, 2007. "Immigration, Industrial Revolution and Urban Growth in the United States, 1820-1920: Factor Endowments, Technology and Geography," NBER Working Papers 12900, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12900
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    Cited by:

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    2. 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.
    3. Ager, Philipp & Brückner, Markus, 2013. "Cultural diversity and economic growth: Evidence from the US during the age of mass migration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 76-97.
    4. Tom Kemeny & Sergio Petralia & Michael Storper, 2022. "Disruptive innovation and spatial inequality," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2211, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2022.
    5. Atack, Jeremy & Margo, Robert A. & Rhode, Paul W., 2022. "Industrialization and urbanization in nineteenth century America," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Lewis, Ethan & Peri, Giovanni, 2015. "Immigration and the Economy of Cities and Regions," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 625-685, Elsevier.
    7. Selod, Harris & Shilpi, Forhad, 2021. "Rural-urban migration in developing countries: Lessons from the literature," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Jedwab, Remi & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2015. "Urbanization without growth in historical perspective," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-21.
    9. Ager, Philipp & Hansen, Casper Worm, 2017. "Closing Heaven's Door: Evidence from the 1920s U.S. Immigration Quota Acts," Discussion Papers on Economics 11/2017, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics.
    10. Philipp Ager & Casper Worm Hansen, 2016. "National Immigration Quotas and Local Economic Growth," Discussion Papers 16-11, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    11. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Boustan, 2017. "Immigration in American Economic History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1311-1345, December.
    12. Jeanne Lafortune & Ethan Lewis & José Tessada, 2019. "People and Machines: A Look at the Evolving Relationship between Capital and Skill in Manufacturing, 1860–1930, Using Immigration Shocks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(1), pages 30-43, March.
    13. 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.
    14. Mercedes Teruel-Carrizosa & Agustí Segarra-Blasco, 2008. "Immigration and Firm Growth: Evidence from Spanish cities," Working Papers XREAP2008-11, Xarxa de Referència en Economia Aplicada (XREAP), revised Nov 2008.
    15. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2019. "The First Industrial Revolution: Creation of a New Global Human Era," MPRA Paper 96644, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Jul 2019.
    16. Teruel Carrizosa , Mercedes & Segarra Blasco , Agustí, 2009. "Immigration and Firm Performance: a city-level approach," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 15, pages 111-137.
    17. Kirk Doran & Chungeun Yoon, 2019. "Immigration and Invention: Does Language Matter?," NBER Chapters, in: The Roles of Immigrants and Foreign Students in US Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, pages 123-145, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Christina Diaz & Jennifer Lee, 2023. "Segmented assimilation and mobility among men in the early 20th century," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(5), pages 107-152.
    19. Eriksson, Katherine & Ward, Zachary, 2022. "Immigrants and cities during the age of mass migration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    20. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2019. "The Second Industrial Revolution has Brought Modern Social and Economic Developments," MPRA Paper 98209, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 26 Dec 2019.
    21. Burton A. Abrams & Jing Li & James G. Mulligan, 2012. "Capital Intensity and U.S. Country Population Growth during the Late Nineteenth Century," Working Papers 12-02, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.

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    JEL classification:

    • F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy
    • N6 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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