Migrants’ self‐selection in the early stages of modern economic growth, Spain (1880–1930)

Abstract

Drawing on a large database from the register of inhabitants of Madrid, this article confirms that the literacy levels of internal migrants moving to the Spanish capital city in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century were higher than that of those who remained in their provinces of origin. This article also explores the different factors influencing the nature and intensity of the selection process. The empirical exercise stresses that the stock of previous migration was a fundamental factor in allowing less literate individuals to join the migration process as well. Interestingly, distance to Madrid hardly affected the profile of male migrants, but it was a strong influence on female migration, although its importance diminished over time. Lastly, the results presented here show that other internal destinations were attracting different types of migrants, often resulting in negative self‐selection.

Two Stories, One Fate: Age-Heaping and Literacy in Spain, 1877-1930

“…An important feature absent from our analysis is internal migration, which could affect the stock of human capital. Beltrán Tapia and Miguel Salanova (2017) found that the migrants moving to Madrid from 1880 to 1930 were on average more literate than their counterparts who remained in their provinces of origin. Other destinations, however, attracted fewer literate migrants, especially those moving from rural areas to the provincial capital, often resulting in negative self-selection.…”

Industrious migrants: gender and the earnings of migrants in Swedish manufacturing around 1900

“…Studies based on census data typically use measures of status derived from recorded occupations to infer migrant selection (Abramitzky, Platt Boustan, & Eriksson, 2013;Long, 2005;Salisbury, 2014). Alternative approaches to occupational measures have approximated human capital by using heights, literacy, or numeracy (Beltrán Tapia & de Miguel Salanova, 2017;Humphries & Leunig, 2009). The results, depending on context, are mixed.…”

604. Madrid 1880-1930: procesos de inserción migratoria y de movilidad social. La aplicación de la metodología internacional HISCLASS al mercado laboral de la España urbana

“…El trabajo doméstico se comercializó de manera 34 Crossick y Haupt, 1995. 35 Nielfa, 1985y De Miguel, 2017. 36 Baker, 2009.…”

“…4 Boyer y Hatton, 1994y 1997, Boyer, 1997, Grant, 2005 y Beine, Docquier y Özden, 2011. 5 Paluzie, Pons, Silvestre y Tirado, 2009; Silvestre, Ayuda y Pinilla, 2015; Carballo y Vicente, 2017 y Beltrán y De Miguel, 2017. comercial excesivamente atomizada. El primer tercio de la siguiente centuria generó, sin embargo, cambios sustanciales en este panorama.…”