Working Paper: NBER ID: w22381
Authors: Ran Abramitzky; Leah Platt Boustan; Katherine Eriksson
Abstract: Using two million census records, we document cultural assimilation during the Age of Mass Migration, a formative period in US history. Immigrants chose less foreign names for children as they spent more time in the US, eventually closing half of the gap with natives. Many immigrants also intermarried and learned English. Name-based assimilation was similar by literacy status, and faster for immigrants who were more culturally distant from natives. Cultural assimilation affected the next generation. Within households, brothers with more foreign names completed fewer years of schooling, faced higher unemployment, earned less and were more likely to marry foreign-born spouses.
Keywords: Cultural Assimilation; Immigration; Naming Practices
JEL Codes: J15; N32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| years spent in the U.S. (K37) | foreignness of names (F22) |
| foreignness of names (F22) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| foreignness of names (F22) | unemployment rates (J64) |
| years spent in the U.S. (K37) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| foreignness of names (F22) | household selection (R20) |