Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration
中文摘要
本文中，我联合考察了移民的政治效应与经济效应，并研究了反移民情绪的成因。我利用第一次世界大战以及20世纪20年代《移民法案》所引致的1910年至1930年间欧洲移民流入美国城市的外生变异，并基于既有定居模式来构造移民区位决策的工具变量。我发现，移民引发了敌对性的政治反应，例如选举出更保守的议员、对反移民立法的支持上升以及再分配减少。在探究本地人反弹的成因时，我记录到：移民提高了本地人的就业，刺激了工业生产，并且即便在高度受冲击行业工作的本地人中也没有造成损失。这些发现表明，对移民的反对不大可能具有经济根源。相反，我提供的证据显示，本地人的政治不满随移民与本地人之间文化差异的增大而上升。本文结果表明，即便多样性在经济上是有益的，它在社会上也可能难以管理。
Abstract
Abstract In this article, I jointly investigate the political and the economic effects of immigration, and study the causes of anti-immigrant sentiments. I exploit exogenous variation in European immigration to U.S. cities between 1910 and 1930 induced by World War I and the Immigration Acts of the 1920s, and instrument immigrants’ location decision relying on pre-existing settlement patterns. I find that immigration triggered hostile political reactions, such as the election of more conservative legislators, higher support for anti-immigration legislation, and lower redistribution. Exploring the causes of natives’ backlash, I document that immigration increased natives’ employment, spurred industrial production, and did not generate losses even among natives working in highly exposed sectors. These findings suggest that opposition to immigration was unlikely to have economic roots. Instead, I provide evidence that natives’ political discontent was increasing in the cultural differences between immigrants and natives. Results in this article indicate that, even when diversity is economically beneficial, it may nonetheless be socially hard to manage.