Poster #22 - Descendants of the Great Migration

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

During the Great Migration (1910-1970), southern blacks were not only motivated by the promise of better opportunities for themselves, but for their children as well. A parent's migration decision has crucial implications for their offspring. Using novel linked 1930 to 1950 census data, I examine the impact of the Great Migration on migrants' children. I predict northern black population change by interacting predicted southern black out-migration with historical settlement patterns in the north. I demonstrate that a 10,000 increase in the black population in a northern county during the second wave of the Great Migration results in a reduction of 0.17 percentage points in the expected likelihood of employment for northern born children of migrants, indicating a modest but statistically significant effect.

Author

• Bezankeng Njinju, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  Presenting Author