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The Labor Market Effects of Mexican Repatriations: Longitudinal Evidence from the 1930s

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  • Jongkwan Lee
  • Giovanni Peri
  • Vasil Yasenov

Abstract

We examine the labor market consequences of an extensive campaign repatriating around 400,000 Mexicans in 1929-34. To identify a causal effect, we instrument county level repatriations with the existence of a railway line to Mexico interacted with the size of the Mexican communities in 1910. Using individual linked data we find that Mexican repatriations reduced employment of native incumbent workers and resulted in their occupational downgrading. However, using a repeated cross section of county level data, we find attenuated and non-significant employment effects and amplified wage downgrading. We show that this is due to selective in- and out-migration of natives.

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  • Jongkwan Lee & Giovanni Peri & Vasil Yasenov, 2019. "The Labor Market Effects of Mexican Repatriations: Longitudinal Evidence from the 1930s," NBER Working Papers 26399, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26399
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    Cited by:

    1. Lara Bohnet & Susana Peralta & João Pereira dos Santos, 2022. "Cousins from Overseas: The Labour Market Impact of a Major Forced Return Migration Shock," CESifo Working Paper Series 9971, CESifo.
    2. Joseph Price & Christian vom Lehn & Riley Wilson, 2020. "The Winners and Losers of Immigration: Evidence from Linked Historical Data," NBER Working Papers 27156, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sascha O. Becker, 2022. "Forced displacement in history: Some recent research," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 2-25, March.
    4. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2023. "Which Mexicans Are White? Enumerator-Assigned Race in the 1930 Census and the Socioeconomic Integration of Mexican Americans," NBER Working Papers 31623, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Marco Alfano & Ross McKenzie & Graeme Roy, 2020. "The cross-occupational effects of immigration on native wages in the UK," Working Papers 2011, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    6. Gunadi Christian, 2020. "Examining the Impact of Legal Arizona Worker Act on Native Female Labor Supply in the United States," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-41, March.
    7. Giovanni Peri & Reem Zaiour, 2023. "Changes in international immigration and internal native mobility after COVID-19 in the USA," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 2389-2428, October.
    8. Eriksson, Katherine & Ward, Zachary, 2022. "Immigrants and cities during the age of mass migration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    9. Castro-Pires, Henrique & Mello, Marco & Moscelli, Giuseppe, 2023. "Foreign Nurses and Hospital Quality: Evidence from Brexit," IZA Discussion Papers 16616, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N22 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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