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From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration

Author

Listed:
  • Vasiliki Fouka
  • Soumyajit Mazumder
  • Marco Tabellini

Abstract

How does the arrival of a new minority group affect the social acceptance and outcomes of existing minorities? We study this question in the context of the First Great Migration. Between 1915 and 1930, 1.5 million African Americans moved from the U.S. South to Northern urban centres, which were home to millions of European immigrants arrived in previous decades. We formalize and empirically test the hypothesis that the inflows of Black Americans changed perceptions of outgroup distance among native-born whites, reducing the barriers to the social integration of European immigrants. Predicting Black in-migration with a version of the shift-share instrument, we find that immigrants living in areas that received more Black migrants experienced higher assimilation along a range of outcomes, such as naturalization rates and intermarriages with native-born spouses. Evidence from the historical press and patterns of heterogeneity across immigrant nationalities provide additional support to the role of shifting perceptions of the white majority.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasiliki Fouka & Soumyajit Mazumder & Marco Tabellini, 2022. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(2), pages 811-842.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:89:y:2022:i:2:p:811-842.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdab038
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jaschke Philipp & Sulin Sardoschau & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Scared Straight? Threat and Assimilation of Refugees in Germany," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2136, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    2. Philipp Jaschke & Sulin Sardoschau & Marco Tabellini, 2023. "Scared Straight? Threat and Assimilation of Refugees in Germany," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 384, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    3. Prömel, Christopher, 2023. "Belonging or estrangement—The European Refugee Crisis and its effects on immigrant identity," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Bernini, Andrea & Facchini, Giovanni & Tabellini, Marco & Testa, Cecilia, 2023. "Black Empowerment and White Mobilization: The Effects of the Voting Rights Act," CEPR Discussion Papers 18238, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Yuki, Kazuhiro, 2023. "Social Identity, Redistribution, and Development," MPRA Paper 115965, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Lindenthal, Volker & Waldinger, Fabian, 2021. "Persecution and Escape," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 542, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. Minghui Fu & Chuanjiang Liu & Yuting Ma & Liukun Wang, 2022. "Does City Public Service Distance Increase Sense of Gain to Public Health Service? Evidence from 1394 Migrant Workers in Six Provinces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-20, May.
    8. Åkesson, Jesper & Hahn, Robert & Metcalfe, Robert & Rasooly, Itzhak, 2022. "Race and Redistribution in the United States: An Experimental Analysis," SocArXiv 9pr34, Center for Open Science.
    9. Jelnov, Pavel, 2023. "Towing Norms through the American Dream," IZA Discussion Papers 15847, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Carlo Medici, 2024. "Closing Ranks: Organized Labor and Immigration," CESifo Working Paper Series 11437, CESifo.
    11. Hessami, Zohal & Schirner, Sebastian, 2024. "Immigration Shocks and Shifting Social Group Boundaries," IZA Discussion Papers 17343, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Cristina Cattaneo & Daniela Grieco & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2024. "Out-group Penalties in Refugee Assistance: A Survey Experiment," NBER Working Papers 32139, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Raux, Morgan, 2023. "Cultural differences and immigrants’ wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Francesco Flaviano Russo, 2024. "Cultural assimilation and segregation in heterogeneous societies," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 1-36, September.
    15. Ariell Zimran, 2022. "Internal Migration in the United States: Rates, Selection, and Destination Choice, 1850-1940," NBER Working Papers 30384, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Nancy Qian & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Racial Discrimination and the Social Contract: Evidence from U.S. Army Enlistment during WWII," NBER Working Papers 29482, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Maria Rosaria Carillo & Tiziana Venittelli & Alberto Zazzaro, 2024. "Immigrants’ Social Identity, Racial Hate Crimes and Public Backlash: Evidence from The "San Gennaro Massacre"," CSEF Working Papers 727, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.

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