Publications
Publications
- 2023
- HBS Working Paper Series
Happily Ever After: Immigration, Natives' Marriage and Fertility
By: Michela Carlana and Marco Tabellini
Abstract
We study the effects of immigration on natives’ marriage, fertility, and family formation across US cities between 1910 and 1930. Using a shift-share design, we find that natives living in cities that received more immigrants were more likely to marry, have children, and leave the parental house earlier. Our evidence suggests that immigration increased native men’s employment, thereby raising the supply of native “marriageable men”. We consider alternative channels—such as changes in sex ratios, natives’ cultural reactions, and economic competition faced by native women—and conclude that none of them, alone, can explain our results.
Keywords
Immigration; Demography; Urban Scope; Household; Employment; History; Outcome or Result; United States
Citation
Carlana, Michela, and Marco Tabellini. "Happily Ever After: Immigration, Natives' Marriage and Fertility." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-004, July 2018. (Revise and resubmit at the Journal of Economic History. Revised November 2023. Winner of European Economic Association Young Economist Award, 2018. IZA (Institute of Labor Economics) Discussion Paper Series, No. 11467, April 2018)