Working Paper: NBER ID: w26127
Authors: Santiago Pérez
Abstract: I study the selection and economic outcomes of Italians in Argentina and the US, the two largest destinations during the age of mass migration. Prior cross-sectional work finds that Italians had faster assimilation in Argentina, but it is inconclusive on whether this was due to differences in selection or host-country conditions. I assemble data following Italians from passenger lists to censuses, enabling me to compare migrants with similar pre-migration characteristics. Italians had better economic outcomes in Argentina, and this advantage was unlikely to be due to selection. Migration path dependence can rationalize these differences in an era of open borders.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J15; J61; N30; N31; N36
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Italians in Argentina (N96) | higher rates of home ownership (R21) |
| Italians in Argentina (N96) | lower likelihood of being employed in unskilled occupations (J79) |
| higher levels of human capital in Italians in Argentina (J24) | better economic outcomes for Italian children in Argentina (J13) |
| linguistic proximity to Spanish (N96) | access to a broader range of occupations for Italians in Argentina (J69) |
| stronger immigrant networks (J61) | higher likelihood to migrate to Argentina (J61) |