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Internal Migration, Education, and Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from American History

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  • Zachary Ward

Abstract

To what extent does internal migration lead to upward mobility? Using within-brother variation and a new linked data set from the early 20th century, I show that internal migration led to significant gains in economic status. On average, the effect of migration was three to four times the effect of one year of education; for those raised in poorer households, the effect was up to ten times that of education. The evidence suggests that internal migration was a key strategy for intergenerational progress in a context of rapid industrialization, large rural-to-urban flows, and wide interregional income gaps.

Suggested Citation

  • Zachary Ward, 2022. "Internal Migration, Education, and Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from American History," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(6), pages 1981-2011.
  • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:57:y:2022:i:6:p:1981-2011
    Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.0619-10265R2
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    File URL: http://jhr.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/57/6/1981
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yacine Boujija & Marie Connolly & Xavier St-Denis, 2023. "Take the train and climb the social ladder: The role of geographical mobility in the fight against inequality in Quebec," CIRANO Papers 2023pj-10, CIRANO.
    2. Regina T. Riphahn & Irakli Sauer, 2024. "Earnings Assimilation of Post-Reunification East German Migrants in West Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 11233, CESifo.
    3. Guido Neidhöfer & Matías Ciaschi & Leonardo Gasparini & Joaquín Serrano, 2024. "Social mobility and economic development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 327-359, June.
    4. Xiaohe Zhou & Mingda Cheng & Chunhui Ye, 2023. "The Impact of Household Migration on the Intergenerational Educational Mobility: Based on the Perspective of Adolescent Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-13, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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