Identity, Parochial Institutions, and Occupational Choice: Linking the Past to the Present in the American Midwest

Abstract

for helpful discussions and suggestions. Seminar participants at Georgia Tech, Harvard-MIT, Indiana University, NBER, and UCLA provided many helpful comments. Ben Feigenberg provided excellent research assistance. Research support from the National Science Foundation through grant SES-0617847 is gratefully acknowledged.¸ The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

Group Inequality

“…Descendants of Italian, Jewish, Slavic, Scotch‐Irish immigrants have enjoyed very different paths toward economic and social equality, and substantial income, wealth, and occupational inequalities among them have persisted. There is evidence linking the degree of ethnic identification among midwestern immigrants of European descent in the mid‐19th century with patterns of upward occupational mobility in the late 20th century, even though the range of actual occupations has changed dramatically over this period of time (Munshi and Wilson ). This is an example in which some level of segregation in social relations, mediated through institutions such as churches, could have played a role in generating and perpetuating ethnic occupational segregation across generations.…”

The Importance of History for Economic Development

“…4 Viewed in this light, all three lines of research are conceptually consistent with one another. All three argue that the institutions of a society are an important determinant of long-3 See for example Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2005a) Acemoglu and Johnson (2004), Becker and Woessmann (2009), Dell (2008), Iyer (2007), Munshi and Wilson (2008), Nunn (2008b), Nunn and Qian (2008), and Nunn and Wantchekon (2008). 4 The studies build on an even earlier literature arguing for the importance of domestic institutions for long-term growth.…”

The Importance of History for Economic Development

“…4 Viewed in this light, all three lines of research are conceptually consistent with one another. All three argue that the institutions of a society are an important determinant of long-3 See for example Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2005a) Acemoglu and Johnson (2004), Becker and Woessmann (2009), Dell (2008), Iyer (2007), Munshi and Wilson (2008), Nunn (2008b), Nunn and Qian (2008), and Nunn and Wantchekon (2008). 4 The studies build on an even earlier literature arguing for the importance of domestic institutions for long-term growth.…”