Data and Code for: Debunking Immigration Myths: A Review Essay of Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Marco Tabellini, Harvard University. Harvard Business School. Division of Research

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
Figure2A.png image/png 53.7 KB 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
Figure2B.png image/png 63.2 KB 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
README.pdf application/pdf 623.8 KB 09/11/2023 09:32:PM
data-P5NxU.csv text/csv 580 bytes 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
data-P5NxU_excel.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 17.6 KB 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
data-dRu0h.csv text/csv 415 bytes 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
data-dRu0h_excel.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 17.9 KB 08/08/2023 10:15:AM
figure_2.do text/plain 3.6 KB 08/08/2023 10:15:AM

Project Citation: 

Tabellini, Marco. Data and Code for: Debunking Immigration Myths: A Review Essay of Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-05-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/E193184V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary This essay reviews Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan. This elegantly written book, highly accessible to both economists and non-economists, is a must-read for anyone interested in the topic of immigration. Streets of Gold is a tour-de-force that walks the reader through the history of US immigration, examining patterns of immigrant economic, social, and cultural assimilation from the mid-nineteenth century to today. Using rigorous empirical methods and novel datasets assembled by the authors over more than 15 years of work, the book challenges two widespread but incorrect myths about US immigration. First, it shows that historical European immigrants did not always arrive poor and quickly climb the economic and social ladder. Second, it documents that the pace of immigrant assimilation today resembles that prevailing at the turn of the twentieth century. The book also provides evidence that immigrants’ success – both today and in the past – does not displace natives, and that immigrants spur economic growth. 

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      J11 Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
      J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
      N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
      N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage US
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2001 – 2023
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) aggregate data; survey data


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V1 [2024-05-07]

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