European migration, national origin and long-term economic development in the US

Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés and Viola Von Berlepsch
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

No 9444, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Have Irish, German or Italian settlers arriving in the US at the turn of the 20th century left an institutional trace which determines economic development differences to this day? Does the national origin of migrants matter for long-term development? This paper explores whether the distinct geographical settlement patterns of European migrants according to national origin affected economic development across US counties. It uses micro-data from the 1880 and 1910 censuses in order to identify where migrants from different nationalities settled and then regresses these patterns on current levels of economic development, using both OLS and instrumental variable approaches. The analysis controls for a number of factors which would have determined both the attractiveness of different US counties at the time of migration, as well as current levels of development. The results indicate that while there is a strong and positive impact associated with overall migration, the national origin of migrants does not make a difference for the current levels of economic development of US counties.

Keywords: Counties; Economic development; Ethnic/national origin; Institutions; Migration; Usa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 N91 O15 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-his, nep-mig and nep-ure
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: European migration, national origin and long-term economic development in the US (2013)
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