Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12878
Authors: Viola von Berlepsch; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose; Neil Lee
Abstract: Does the economic effect of immigrant women differ from that of immigrants in general? This paper examines if gender has influenced the short- and long-term economic impact of mass migration to the US, using Census microdata from 1880 and 1910. By means of ordinary least squares and instrumental variable estimations, the analysis shows that a greater concentration of immigrant women is significantly associated with lower levels of economic development in US counties. However, immigrant women also shaped economic development positively, albeit indirectly, via their children. Communities with more children born to foreign mothers and that successfully managed to integrate female immigrants experienced greater economic growth than those dominated by children of foreign-born fathers or American-born parents.
Keywords: gender; migration; economic growth; development; counties; US
JEL Codes: F22; J16; J61; O15; R23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Greater concentration of immigrant women (J69) | Lower levels of economic development (O54) |
| Children born to immigrant mothers (J13) | Greater economic growth (O49) |
| Immigrant women (J82) | Economic dynamism (O00) |