Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants over Two Centuries

Ran Abramitzky, Leah Boustan, Elisa Jácome and Santiago Pérez
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Ran Abramitzky: Stanford University
Leah Boustan: Princeton University
Elisa Jácome: Princeton University
Santiago Pérez: University of California at Davis

Working Papers from Princeton University. Economics Department.

Abstract: Using millions of father-son pairs spanning more than 100 years of US history, we find that children of immigrants from nearly every sending country have higher rates of upward mobility than children of the US-born. Immigrants' advantage is similar historically and today despite dramatic shifts in sending countries and US immigration policy. In the past, this advantage can be explained by immigrants moving to areas with better prospects for their children and by "underplacement" of the first generation in the income distribution. These findings are consistent with the "American Dream" view that even poorer immigrants can improve their children's prospects.

Keywords: Immigration; Social Mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J61 J62 N30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pri:econom:2019-6

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