Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13757
Authors: Nina Boberg-Fazlic; Paul Sharp
Abstract: Despite the growing literature on the impact of immigration, little is known about the role existing migrant settlements can play for knowledge transmission. We present a case which can illustrate this important mechanism and hypothesize that nineteenth century Danish-American communities helped spread knowledge on modern dairying to rural America. From around 1880, Denmark developed rapidly and by 1890 it was a world-leading dairy producer. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, and data taken from the US census and Danish emigration archives, we find that counties with more Danes in 1880 subsequently both specialized in dairying and used more modern practices.
Keywords: Dairying; Immigration; Knowledge Spillovers; Technology
JEL Codes: F22; J61; N11; N31; N51; O33; Q16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| number of Danish immigrants in a county (J69) | specialization in dairying (L66) |
| number of Danish immigrants in a county (J69) | adoption of modern practices (O14) |
| number of Danish immigrants in a county (J69) | increase in industrial butter production (L66) |
| number of Danish immigrants in a county (J69) | decrease in traditional farm butter production (L66) |
| number of Danish immigrants in a county (J69) | continued specialization in dairying (L66) |