Refugees from Dust and Shrinking Land: Tracking the Dust Bowl Migrants

Jason Long and Henry Siu

The Journal of Economic History, 2018, vol. 78, issue 4, 1001-1033

Abstract: We construct longitudinal data from U.S. census records to study the economics of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s. Most of our findings contradict long-standing perceptions. While migration rates were high relative to elsewhere in the United States, they were similar to migration rates from the region in the 1920s. Relative to other occupations, farmers were the least likely to move. Furthermore, migrants from the Dust Bowl were not exceptionally likely to move to California. Finally, there was negligible migrant selectivity, and migration was not associated with long-lasting negative labor market outcomes; indeed, for farmers, the gains from migration were positive.

Date: 2018
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Working Paper: Refugees From Dust and Shrinking Land: Tracking the Dust Bowl Migrants (2016)
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