IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hes/wpaper/0189.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Paesani versus Paisanos: The Relative Failure of Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires during the Age of Mass Migration

Author

Listed:
  • Leticia Arroyo Abad

    (City University of New York)

  • Noel Maurer

    (George Washington University)

  • Blanca Sánchez-Alonso

    (Universidad San Pablo-CEU)

Abstract

Millions of immigrants chose Argentina as the land of opportunity during the era of mass migration. Two immigrant groups, Italians and Spaniards, dominated the immigration flows. Despite higher literacy and their linguistic advantages, in Buenos Aires Spaniards fared worse when compared to Italians. By 1895, Italians enjoyed higher wages. What explains their paths in the city of Buenos Aires? We find that the Italian community capitalized upon pre-existing cultural traditions to establish denser and more effective networks to match their compatriots with economic opportunities. The more individualistic Spanish were unable to keep pace, despite their initial cultural, linguistic, and educational advantages.

Suggested Citation

  • Leticia Arroyo Abad & Noel Maurer & Blanca Sánchez-Alonso, 2020. "Paesani versus Paisanos: The Relative Failure of Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires during the Age of Mass Migration," Working Papers 0189, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0189
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_189.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    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. Juif, Dácil, 2015. "Skill Selectivity In Transatlantic Migration: The Case Of Canary Islanders In Cuba," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(2), pages 189-222, September.
    3. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2012. "Europe's Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses: Self-Selection and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(5), pages 1832-1856, August.
    4. Deepti Goel & Kevin Lang, 2019. "Social Ties and the Job Search of Recent Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(2), pages 355-381, March.
    5. Fajgelbaum, Pablo & Redding, Stephen, 2014. "External integration, structural transformation and economic development: evidence from Argentina," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60285, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Zachary Ward, 2020. "The low return to English fluency during the Age of Mass Migration☆," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 24(2), pages 219-242.
    7. Timothy Hatton & Andrew Leigh, 2011. "Immigrants assimilate as communities, not just as individuals," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(2), pages 389-419, April.
    8. Krishna Patel & Francis Vella, 2013. "Immigrant Networks and Their Implications for Occupational Choice and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1249-1277, October.
    9. Leticia Arroyo Abad & Blanca Sánchez-Alonso, 2018. "A city of trades: Spanish and Italian immigrants in late-nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, Argentina," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 12(2), pages 343-376, May.
    10. Malanima, Paolo, 2005. "Urbanisation and the Italian economy during the last millennium," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 97-122, April.
    11. Walter F. Willcox, 1929. "Part II: Statistics of Migrations, International Tables," NBER Chapters, in: International Migrations, Volume I: Statistics, pages 225-352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Samuel Bentolila & Claudio Michelacci & Javier Suarez, 2010. "Social Contacts and Occupational Choice," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 20-45, January.
    13. Blanca Sánchez‐Alonso, 2019. "The age of mass migration in Latin America," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(1), pages 3-31, February.
    14. Sniderman, Paul M. & Hagendoorn, Louk & Prior, Markus, 2004. "Predisposing Factors and Situational Triggers: Exclusionary Reactions to Immigrant Minorities," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(1), pages 35-49, February.
    15. Gray, Rowena, 2013. "Taking technology to task: The skill content of technological change in early twentieth century United States," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 351-367.
    16. Lori A. Beaman, 2012. "Social Networks and the Dynamics of Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Refugees Resettled in the U.S," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(1), pages 128-161.
    17. Wegge, Simone A., 2002. "Occupational self-selection of European emigrants: Evidence from nineteenth-century Hesse-Cassel," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 365-394, December.
    18. Montgomery, James D, 1991. "Social Networks and Labor-Market Outcomes: Toward an Economic Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(5), pages 1407-1418, December.
    19. Hatton, Timothy J., 1997. "The Immigrant Assimilation Puzzle in Late Nineteenth-Centuty America," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(1), pages 34-62, March.
    20. Redding, Stephen & Fajgelbaum, Pablo, 2014. "External Integration, Structural Transformation and Economic Development: Evidence from Argentina 1870-1914," CEPR Discussion Papers 10026, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Walter F. Willcox, 1929. "International Migrations, Volume I: Statistics," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number fere29-1.
    22. Tarrow, Sidney, 1996. "Making Social Science Work Across Space and Time: A Critical Reflection on Robert Putnam's Making Democracy Work," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 389-397, June.
    23. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    24. Minns, Chris, 2000. "Income, Cohort Effects, and Occupational Mobility: A New Look at Immigration to the United States at the Turn of the 20th Century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 326-350, October.
    25. Deepti Goel & Kevin Lang, 2009. "Social Ties and the Job Search of Recent Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 15186, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Jens Hainmueller & Daniel J. Hopkins, 2015. "The Hidden American Immigration Consensus: A Conjoint Analysis of Attitudes toward Immigrants," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(3), pages 529-548, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. José Antonio García‐Barrero, 2024. "From circular to permanent: The economic assimilation of migrants during Spain's rural exodus, 1955–73," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 765-795, August.
    2. Fernández, Martín & Tortorici, Gaspare, 2024. "Male and female self-selection during the Portuguese mass migration, 1885–1930," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deepti Goel & Kevin Lang, 2019. "Social Ties and the Job Search of Recent Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(2), pages 355-381, March.
    2. Glitz, Albrecht, 2017. "Coworker networks in the labour market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 218-230.
    3. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Boustan, 2017. "Immigration in American Economic History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1311-1345, December.
    4. Colussi, Tommaso, 2015. "Migrant Networks and Job Search Outcomes: Evidence from Displaced Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 9339, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Eva Arceo, 2010. "Job Search, Social Interactions and Labor Market Performance of Low-Skilled Immigrants," Working Papers DTE 489, CIDE, División de Economía.
    6. Arceo-Gómez, Eva Olimpia, 2012. "Job Search, Networks, and Labor Market Performance of Immigrants," MPRA Paper 44533, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Battiston, Diego, 2018. "The Persistent Effects of Brief Interactions: Evidence from Immigrant Ships," MPRA Paper 97151, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Patacchini, Eleonora & Zenou, Yves, 2012. "Ethnic networks and employment outcomes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 938-949.
    9. Engdahl, Mattias & Willis, Sébastien & Åslund, Olof, 2024. "Professional networks and the labour market assimilation of immigrants," Working Paper Series 2024:9, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    10. Timothy J. Hatton & Zachary Ward, 2024. "International Migration in the Atlantic Economy 1850–1940," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 507-535, Springer.
    11. Christian Dustmann & Albrecht Glitz & Uta Schönberg & Herbert Brücker, 2016. "Referral-based Job Search Networks," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(2), pages 514-546.
    12. Collins, William J. & Zimran, Ariell, 2019. "The economic assimilation of Irish Famine migrants to the United States," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Tommaso Colussi, 2013. "Migrant Networks and Job Search Outcomes: Evidence from Displaced Workers," Working Papers 706, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    14. Timothy J. Hatton, 2010. "The Cliometrics Of International Migration: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 941-969, December.
    15. Lorenzo Cappellari & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2010. "Friends’ Networks and Job Finding Rates," DISCE - Quaderni dell'Istituto di Economia dell'Impresa e del Lavoro ieil0059, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    16. Michele Battisti & Giovanni Peri & Agnese Romiti, 2022. "Dynamic Effects of Co-Ethnic Networks on Immigrants’ Economic Success," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(641), pages 58-88.
    17. Ferrie, Joseph & Hatton, Timothy J., 2013. "Two Centuries of International Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 7866, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Leticia Arroyo Abad & Blanca Sánchez-Alonso, 2018. "A city of trades: Spanish and Italian immigrants in late-nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, Argentina," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 12(2), pages 343-376, May.
    19. Tommaso Colussi, 2013. "Migrant Networks and Job Search Outcomes: Evidence from Displaced Workers," Working Papers 706, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    20. Tatsiramos, Konstantinos & Cappellari, Lorenzo, 2011. "Friends’ networks and job finding rates," ISER Working Paper Series 2011-21, Institute for Social and Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; networks; Buenos Aires.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0189. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Paul Sharp (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ehessea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.