Working Paper: NBER ID: w31012
Authors: Cavit Baran; Eric Chyn; Bryan A. Stuart
Abstract: This paper studies the impact of the First Great Migration on children. We use the complete count 1940 Census to estimate selection-corrected place effects on education for children of Black migrants. On average, Black children gained 0.8 years of schooling (12 percent) by moving from the South to North. Many counties that had the strongest positive impacts on children during the 1940s offer relatively poor opportunities for Black youth today. Opportunities for Black children were greater in places with more schooling investment, stronger labor market opportunities for Black adults, more social capital, and less crime.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: H75; J15; J24; N32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| moving to the north during the first wave of the Great Migration (R23) | educational outcomes of children (I21) |
| moving to an average northern destination (R23) | educational attainment (I21) |
| moving to the north (R23) | reduction in omitted variable bias (C20) |
| moving to the north (R23) | black-white educational gap (I24) |
| moving to the north (R23) | total black-white convergence in educational attainment (I24) |
| urban areas (R11) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| rural locations (R39) | educational outcomes (I26) |