 Settling prosperity: Historical immigration and its long-term institutional legaciesAmanda Guimbeau Journal of Comparative Economics, 2026, vol. 54, issue 2, 386-428 Abstract: During Brazil’s Age of Mass Migration (1880s-1930s), the state sponsored immigrant settlements in São Paulo. Using a new dataset that combines historical and modern administrative records, this paper explores the institutional impact of these settlements. Municipalities closer to them now enjoy better public goods provision and more well-defined property rights, as reflected in structured contractual arrangements, fewer land invasions, and increased investments in high-stakes agricultural practices. Intermediate data show that settlement municipalities recorded higher notarial activity, more frequent legal transactions, and greater land tax revenues in the years following settlement. These changes supported improvements in local governance, legal certainty, and public investment. Overall, the findings highlight how state-led settlement shaped regional economic and institutional development, showing that the implementation of immigration policy had lasting effects on local growth trajectories. Keywords: Brazil; Economic development; Immigration; Institutional legacy; Legal formalization; Local governance; Path dependency; Public good; Regional growth; Settlement policy (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:54:y:2026:i:2:p:386-428 DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2026.02.008 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Comparative Economics is currently edited by D. Berkowitz and G. Roland More articles in Journal of Comparative Economics from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.