EH.Net Abstracts in Economic History

               EHS Abstract Submission
		  (c) 1996 EH.Net
-----------------------------------------------------------
             Name:  Joseph P. Ferrie
            Email:  ferrie at nwu.edu
      Institution:  Northwestern University 
 
        Co-author:  None
 
            Title:  THE ENTRY INTO THE U.S. LABOR
                     MARKET OF ANTEBELLUM EUROPEAN
                      IMMIGRANTS, 1840-60  

 Internet Address:  http://www.econ.nwu.edu/faculty/ferrie/  

          By mail:  
                    Department of Economics
                    Northwestern University
                    Evanston, IL 60208-2600
                    
 
         Language:  English
 
         Abstract:
This study examines the occupational mobility of antebellum
immigrants as they entered the United States. White-collar,
skilled, and semi-skilled immigrants left unskilled jobs more
rapidly after arrival than farmers and unskilled workers. British
and German immigrants fared better than the Irish; literate
immigrants in rapidly growing counties and places with many
immigrants fared best. These findings have implications for (1)
the accuracy of estimates of immigrant occupational mobility; (2)
the size of the human capital transfer resulting from antebellum
immigration; and (3) the causes of the difficulty experienced by
some immigrant groups in transferring their skills to the United
States.  
 
Bibliography:  Ferrie, Joseph P.  "The Entry Into The U.S. Labor
Market Of Antebellum European Immigrants, 1840-60."  NBER 
Historical Factors in Long Run Growth, Working Paper (1995).
Forthcoming in Explorations in Economic History (1996).
 
          Subject:  J
Geographical Area:  7
   Country/Region:  United States 
      Time Period:  7