A Nation of Emigrants: Transatlantic Emigration and Italian National Identity

Davide Coluccia, Giampaolo Lecce and Laura Ogliari

No 21928, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We study how intergroup contact among immigrants shapes national identity formation within migrant communities and in their places of origin. We assemble a new dataset on Italian migrants to the U.S. between 1892 and 1924 by linking population census records to Ellis Island passenger lists, which report migrants’ municipalities of origin. In the U.S., exposure to more diverse Italian communities fosters shared national identity, as measured by national naming choices and intergroup marriage, while reducing assimilation into American society. In Italy, municipalities whose migrants were exposed to more diverse communities abroad exhibit lower cultural particularism. Our findings uncover a nation-building effect of intergroup contact within immigrant communities, extending from immigrant communities abroad to migrants’ places of origin.

Keywords: Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 N32 N33 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-09
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