The Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Immigration Restrictions: Immigration Quotas and the Great Black Migration

• DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4128809
• Publication Date: 2022-06-07T18:52:54Z
• Authors: Bin Xie

Based on county-level data and linked individual samples, I examine the labor market effect of negative immigration shock caused by theUS quota system between 1920 1930 identifies causal impact restrictions Great Black Migration. find that did not affect average wages lowered US-born whites immigrants at aggregate level. The analysis based samples reveals substantial internal migration distributional shock: in-migrants to counties more affected had greater wage gains while non-movers suffered a sharper decline in wages. In particular, causally substantially increased black southerners northern counties. migrants who moved earned higher wages, they were likely become literate work urban areas as low-skilled manufacturing workers.