Leaving the Enclave: Historical Evidence on Immigrant Mobility from the Industrial Removal Office

The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of economic history 2024-06, Vol.84 (2), p.352-394
Main Authors: Abramitzky, Ran, Boustan, Leah, Connor, Dylan Shane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Assimilation
Censuses
Country of birth
Earnings
Households
Immigrants
Jewish people
Labor market
Migration
Mobility
Moving & housing expenses
Neighborhoods
Relocation
Spouses
Yiddish language
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generation. Benefits increased with more years spent outside of an enclave. Participants were more likely to speak English, and married spouses with less Jewish names. More Jewishly-identified men (as measured by own names) were more likely to return to the city. We contextualize these results with new national evidence on Jewish economic and cultural assimilation.
ISSN:0022-0507
1471-6372
DOI:10.1017/S0022050724000159