Working Paper: NBER ID: w31551
Authors: Sebastian Galiani; Luis F. Jaramillo; Mateo Uribe-Castro
Abstract: This paper examines the influence of transportation infrastructure on migration decisions in the context of the Great Migration in the United States. Focusing on the opening of the Panama Canal in 1920, we isolate the effect of improved economic opportunities from reduced migration costs. Using full-count Census data, we find that Southern African American migrants preferred areas with enhanced market access, leading to higher inflows after 1920. The study highlights the inter- play between migrant networks and labor markets in shaping migration patterns. Our findings underscore the significance of local market conditions induced by improvements in local market access in influencing migration decisions during the Great Migration.
Keywords: migration; Panama Canal; market access; Great Migration; African Americans
JEL Codes: J16; N32; N72
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Opening of the Panama Canal (N72) | Enhanced market access for certain counties (F15) |
| Enhanced market access for certain counties (F15) | Increased migration of Southern African Americans to those areas (R23) |
| Increased migration of Southern African Americans to those areas (R23) | Economic opportunities channel (F69) |
| Enhanced market access for certain counties (F15) | Increased migration due to labor market conditions (J61) |
| Moving from the 25th to the 75th percentile in market access gains (F61) | 118% increase in share of Southern-born African Americans (R23) |
| Existing migrant networks (F22) | Transformation of canal-induced benefits into higher migration flows (F22) |
| Improved labor markets (J49) | Shaping migration patterns (F22) |
| Market access (L17) | Migration decisions during the Great Migration (J61) |