The next RITM Economics Seminar will be held on Thursday, January 23th from 12h15 to 13h15, in room A5 (Sceaux).
Stefania Marcassa (THEMA, CY Cergy) will present “Migration, Social Change, and the Early Decline in the United States Fertility”.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of internal migration on the fertility transition in the 19th-century United States. The findings reveal that fertility declined more rapidly in counties with higher rates of outward migration, particularly toward the western frontier. To estimate the causal effect of migration on fertility decline, I use the number of acres granted to American war veterans by Congress between 1847 and 1855 as an instrumental variable. Migration, combined with limited remittance technology, encouraged parents to prioritize precautionary savings. This shift contributed to the decline of multigenerational family structures and fostered smaller family size norms.
Link to the RITM Economics seminar web page