The Great Migration and Educational Opportunity

Authors

Cavit Baran, Northwestern UniversityFollow
Eric Chyn, National Bureau of Economic Research and Dartmouth CollegeFollow
Bryan A. Stuart, Federal Reserve Bank of PhiladelphiaFollow

Publication Date

7-5-2022

Series

Upjohn Institute working paper ; 22-367

DOI

10.17848/wp22-367

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of the First Great Migration on children. We use the complete-count 1940 Census to estimate selection-corrected place effects on education for children of Black migrants. On average, Black children gained 0.8 years of schooling (12 percent) by moving from the South to the North. Many counties that had the strongest positive impacts on children during the 1940s offer relatively poor opportunities for Black youth today. Opportunities for Black children were greater in places with more schooling investment, stronger labor market opportunities for Black adults, more social capital, and less crime.

Issue Date

June 2022

Note

Upjohn project #58000

Sponsorship

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Early Career Research Award 20-158-04

Subject Areas

EDUCATION; K-12 Education; LABOR MARKET ISSUES