Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16182
Authors: Costanza Biavaschi; Corrado Giulietti; Yves Zenou
Abstract: This paper investigates the pathways through which immigrant communities (social networks) influence individual naturalization. Specifically, we examine the impact that a fraction of naturalized co-ethnics, residing in the same block as a new immigrant in New York City in 1930, have on the probability of said immigrant becoming a U.S. citizen in 1940. Our results indicate that the concentration of naturalized co-ethnics residing in the block positively predicts individual naturalization and that this relationship operates through one main channel: information dissemination. Indeed, immigrants who live among naturalized co-ethnics are more likely to naturalize because they have greater access to critical information about the benefits and procedures of naturalization.
Keywords: social networks; assimilation; naturalization; migration
JEL Codes: J61; J62; N32; Z1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| information dissemination (L86) | individual naturalization (K37) |
| immigrants living among naturalized coethnics (K37) | better access to critical information regarding the naturalization process (K37) |
| networks impact non-English speaking immigrants (J61) | information acquisition (D83) |
| concentration of naturalized coethnics in the same block (R23) | individual naturalization (K37) |
| 10% increase in the share of naturalized coethnics in a neighborhood (R23) | individual naturalization (K37) |