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Closing Heaven’s Door: Evidence from the 1920s U.S.Immigration Quota Acts

Author

Listed:
  • Philipp Ager

    (Department of Business and Economics, University of Southern Denmark)

  • Casper Worm Hansen

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract
The introduction of immigration quotas in the 1920s fundamentally changed U.S. immigration policy. We exploit this policy change to estimate the economic consequences of immigration restrictions for the U.S. economy. The implementation of the quota system led to a long-lasting relative decline in population growth in areas with larger pre-existing immigrant communities of affected nationalities. This effect was largely driven by the policy-restricted supply of immigrants from quota-affected nationalities and lower fertility of first- and second-generation immigrant women. In the more affected areas labor productivity growth in manufacturing declined substantially and native workers were pushed into lower-wage occupations. While native white workers faced sizable earnings losses, black workers benefited from the quota system and improved their relative economic status within the more affected areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Ager & Casper Worm Hansen, 2017. "Closing Heaven’s Door: Evidence from the 1920s U.S.Immigration Quota Acts," Discussion Papers 17-22, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1722
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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Campo & Mariapia Mendola & Andrea Morrison & Gianmarco Ottaviano, "undated". "Immigrant Inventors and Diversity in the Age of Mass Migration," Development Working Papers 464, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    2. Xie, Bin, 2017. "The Effects of Immigration Quotas on Wages, the Great Black Migration, and Industrial Development," IZA Discussion Papers 11214, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2019. "Economic History and Contemporary Challenges to Globalization," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 356-382, June.
    4. Giuliano, Paola & Tabellini, Marco, 2020. "The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 13268, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Vasiliki Fouka & Soumyajit Mazumder & Marco Tabellini, 2019. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," Development Working Papers 445, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    6. Qingyang Lin, 2022. "Immigration Quotas and Anti-Immigration Attitudes: An Evaluation of Swiss Migration Policy," IHEID Working Papers 05-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    7. Timothy J. Hatton & Zachary Ward, 2024. "International Migration in the Atlantic Economy 1850–1940," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 507-535, Springer.
    8. Joseph Price & Christian vom Lehn & Riley Wilson, 2020. "The Winners and Losers of Immigration: Evidence from Linked Historical Data," NBER Working Papers 27156, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Ager, Philipp & Abramitzky, Ran & Boustan, Leah & Cohen, Elior David & Hansen, Casper Worm, 2019. "The Effects of Immigration on the Economy: Lessons from the 1920s Border Closure," CEPR Discussion Papers 14165, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Fouka, Vasiliki & Mazumder, Soumyajit & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 14371, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Francesco Campo & Mariapia Mendola & Andrea Morrison & Gianmarco Ottaviano, "undated". "Immigrant Inventors and Diversity in the Age of Mass Migration," Development Working Papers 464, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    12. Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, 2018. "Economic history and contemporary challenges to globalization," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _167, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    13. Mazumder, Soumyajit, 2019. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," OSF Preprints eka5y, Center for Open Science.
    14. Kirk Doran & Chungeun Yoon, 2019. "Immigration and Invention: Does Language Matter?," NBER Chapters, in: The Roles of Immigrants and Foreign Students in US Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, pages 123-145, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Carlana, Michela & Tabellini, Marco, 2018. "Happily Ever After: Immigration, Natives' Marriage, and Fertility," Working Paper Series rwp18-035, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    16. Andreas Vortisch, 2023. "The impact of the Johnson–Reed Act on Filipino labor market outcomes," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 12, Stata Users Group.
    17. Eriksson, Katherine & Ward, Zachary, 2022. "Immigrants and cities during the age of mass migration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration restrictions; productivity growth; local labor markets; racial wage gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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