The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants

William Collins and Marianne Wanamaker ()

No 21384, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We construct datasets of linked census records to study internal migrants’ selection and destination choices during the first decades of the “Great Migration” (1910-1930). We study both whites and blacks and intra- and inter-regional migration. While there is some evidence of positive selection, the degree of selection was small and participation in migration was widespread. Differences in background, including initial location, cannot account for racial differences in destination choices. Blacks and whites were similarly responsive to pre-existing migrant stocks from their home state, but black men were more deterred by distance, attracted to manufacturing, and responsive to labor demand.

JEL-codes: J10 J61 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-lab, nep-mig and nep-ure
Note: DAE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (51)

Published as Collins, William J. & Wanamaker, Marianne H., 2015. "The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(04), pages 947-992, December.

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Journal Article: The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants (2015)
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