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

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  • Tabellini, Marco
  • Fouka, Vasiliki
  • Mazumder, Soumyajit

Abstract

How does the appearance 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 US South to Northern urban centers, which were home to millions of European immigrants arrived in previous decades. We formalize and empirically test the hypothesis that Black inflows 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

  • Tabellini, Marco & Fouka, Vasiliki & Mazumder, Soumyajit, 2020. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 14396, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14396
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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Alesina & Marco Tabellini, 2024. "The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 5-46, March.
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    3. Elena Esposito & Tiziano Rotesi & Alessandro Saia & Mathias Thoenig, 2023. "Reconciliation Narratives: The Birth of a Nation after the US Civil War," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(6), pages 1461-1504, June.
    4. Tabellini, Marco & Gagliarducci, Stefano, 2021. "Faith and Assimilation: Italian Immigrants in the US," CEPR Discussion Papers 15794, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Rapoport & Hillel & Sulin Sardoschau & Arthur Silve & Hillel Rapoport, 2020. "Migration and Cultural Change," CESifo Working Paper Series 8547, CESifo.
    6. Baccini, Leonardo & Lodefalk, Magnus & Sabolová, Radka, 2024. "Economic Determinants of Attitudes Toward Migration: Firm-level Evidence from Europe," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(1), pages 67-102, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Assimilation; Great migration; Race; Group identity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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