EH.Net Abstracts in Economic History

              EHS Abstract Submission
                    (c) 1997 Academic Press and EH.Net
-----------------------------------------------------------
              Name:  Joseph Ferrie
               Email:  jferrie at eh.net
         Institution:  Northwestern University and NBER  

         Co-author:  None
 
             Title:  The Entry into the U.S. Labor Market of
Antebellum European Immigrants, 1840-60  

  Internet Address
of abstracted work:  Not available on the Internet  

           By mail:  
                     Joseph Ferrie
                     Department of Economics
                     Northwestern University
                     Evanston IL 60208
 
          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. "The Entry into the U.S.
Labor Market of Antebellum European Immigrants, 1840-60,"
Explorations in Economic History (April 1997).

 
                  Subject:  T
 Geographical Area:  7
      Country/Region:  United States
           Time Period:  7