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The economic history of migration: the pre-World War One USA as lens

In: International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development

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  • Robert A. Margo

Abstract

This chapter briefly surveys the principal issues in the economic history of international migration. As a way of framing this vast, unruly topic, I view the issues through the lens of the nation receiving the majority of immigrants historically – the United States prior to World War One. I begin by discussing the economic theory of migration, followed by the history of population movement to the New World from 1500 to 1800. Next, I recount the “Age of Mass Migration”, framed around the important project by Timothy Hatton and Jeffrey G. Williamson. The essay concludes with a discussion of the WWI-era legislation that “closed the door” to the United States and the internal migration of African-Americans that it prompted.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert A. Margo, 2014. "The economic history of migration: the pre-World War One USA as lens," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 3, pages 42-64, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:15465_3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ferrie, Joseph P., 1997. "The Entry into the U.S. Labor Market of Antebellum European Immigrants, 1840-1860," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 295-330, July.
    2. Ferrie, Joseph P., 1994. "The Wealth Accumulation of Antebellum European Immigrants to the U.S., 1840–60," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(1), pages 1-33, March.
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    5. Robert A. Margo, 1990. "Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950: An Economic History," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number marg90-1.
    6. Goldin, Claudia & Libecap, Gary D. (ed.), 1994. "The Regulated Economy," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226301105, September.
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    11. Cohn,Raymond L., 2009. "Mass Migration under Sail," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521513227, September.
    12. Hatton, Timothy J. & Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1998. "The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195116519.
    13. Collins, Wiiliam J., 1997. "When the Tide Turned: Immigration and the Delay of the Great Black Migration," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 607-632, September.
    14. Robert A. Margo, 2000. "Introduction to "Wages and Labor Markets in the United States, 1820-1860"," NBER Chapters, in: Wages and Labor Markets in the United States, 1820-1860, pages 1-5, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2014. "A Nation of Immigrants: Assimilation and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(3), pages 467-506.
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