Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16739
Authors: Samuel Bazzi; Andreas Ferrara; Martin Fiszbein; Thomas Pearson; Patrick Testa
Abstract: This paper shows how the migration of millions of Southern whites in the 20th century shaped the cultural and political landscape across America. Racially and religiously conservative, Southern white migrants created new electoral possibilities for a broad-based coalition with economic conservatives. With considerable geographic scope, these migrants hastened partisan realignment and helped to catalyze and sustain a New Right movement with national influence over the long run. More than just a novel voting bloc outside the South, they transmitted conservative ideology and cultural norms to non-Southern populations. Southern white migrants expanded the scope for such transmission by building evangelical churches and by helping to diffuse right-wing media. Residential integration and intermarriage also facilitated spillover effects. Using a mover-based strategy, we show that exposure to Southern white neighbors increased adoption of conservative religious norms. Overall, our findings suggest that this mass migration may have blurred the North-South cultural divide and reshaped the geography of conservatism in the U.S.
Keywords: migration; cultural transmission; political preferences; US South
JEL Codes: N32; P16; D72; J15; J18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| southern white migration (R23) | adoption of conservative religious norms (Z12) |
| southern white migration (R23) | republican party presidential vote shares (D72) |
| southern white migration (R23) | voting behavior (D72) |
| intermarriage and residential integration (R23) | voting influence of southern migrants (R23) |
| southern white diaspora (R23) | reshaping of political landscape (D72) |