- 02 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Discrimination, Disenfranchisement and African American WWII Military Enlistment
The United States entered World War II during one of the worst periods of racial discrimination in post-Civil War history. This paper examines the social costs of this discrimination, with clear implications for policymakers: Requiring equal contributions from citizens means treating citizens equally.
- 15 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States
Researchers test the relationship between historical immigration to the United States and political ideology today.
- 19 May 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Stereotypes and Politics
Stereotypes exaggerate true differences across groups. This study identifies factors that shape and distort individuals’ beliefs about others’ political and social attitudes.
- 21 Apr 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Changing In-group Boundaries: The Role of New Immigrant Waves in the US
How do new immigrants affect natives’ views of other minority groups? This work studies the evolution of group boundaries in the United States and indicates that whites living in states receiving more Mexican immigrants recategorize blacks as in-group members, because of the inflow of a new, “affectively” more distant group.
- 17 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of Technology and Trade on Migration: Evidence from the US
Labor mobility can re-equilibrate local labor markets after an economic shock. Both robot adoption and Chinese import competition between 1990 and 2015 caused large declines in manufacturing employment across US local labor markets (commuting zones, CZs). However, only robots were associated with a decline in CZ population, which resulted from reduced in-migration rather than by increased out-migration.
- 02 Sep 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Legislators' Response to Changes in the Electorate: The Great Migration and Civil Rights
The second Great Migration (1940–1970) brought to the US North and West more than four million African Americans. We show that this unique episode of internal migration contributed to the development and eventual success of civil rights legislation.
- 19 Sep 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation During the Great Migration
The Great Migration of African Americans and the mass migration of Europeans both contributed to forming the modern American racial and ethnic landscape. This analysis finds that native whites more readily accepted European immigrants as African Americans arrived in the US North during the first Great Migration, facilitating the assimilation of European immigrants in northern urban centers.
- 07 Aug 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Economic Integration and Democracy: An Empirical Investigation
Economic integration reduces or eliminates trade barriers and coordinates monetary and fiscal policies. This study suggests that demand for democracy increases with economic integration due to the presence of a learning and cultural transmission channel, so less democratic countries learn from the institutions of their (more) democratic partners.
- 07 Aug 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration
Investigating the economic and political effects of immigration across US cities between 1910 and 1930, this paper finds that political opposition to immigration can arise even when immigrants bring widespread economic benefits. The paper provides evidence that cultural differences between immigrants and natives were responsible, at least in part, for natives’ anti-immigration reactions.
The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics?
This paper reviews and explains the growing literature focused on the political effects of immigration, and highlights fruitful avenues for future research. When compared to potential labor market competition and other economic forces, broadly defined cultural factors have a stronger political and social impact.