The aggregate and distributional effects of immigration restrictions: The 1920s Quota Acts and the Great Black Migration

Abstract

Using county-level data and linked individual samples, this study explores the labor market impact of the immigration shock triggered by the US immigration quota system and its causal effect on the Great Black Migration. County-level analysis indicates that immigration restrictions did not affect average manufacturing wages and lowered the average occupational standings of US-born whites and immigrants. Analysis of linked individual samples reveals substantial internal migration and distributional effect caused by the immigration shock: migrants moving to counties more impacted by the shock experienced greater economic gains, while non-movers suffered greater losses. Notably, the negative immigration shock led to a marked increase in the migration of Black southerners to northern counties. Black migrants moving to more affected areas achieved higher occupational standings, increased literacy rates, and greater employment in urban manufacturing jobs.