The economic payoff of name Americanization
The economic payoff of name Americanization
We provide the first evidence on the magnitude and consequences of the Ameri- canization of migrants names in the early 20th century. We construct a longitudinal dataset of naturalization records, tracking migrants and their naming choices over time. We consistently find that migrants who Americanized their names experienced larger occupational upgrading than those who did not. Name Americanization embodies an intention to assimilate among low-skilled migrants and reveals the existence of pref- erences for American names within the labor market. We conclude that the trade-off between individual identity and labor market success was present then, as it is today.
Americanization, names, assimilation, migration
1089-1116
Biavaschi, Costanza
919e31b6-c1a3-4681-8ff2-92ad4ffbadfd
Giulietti, Corrado
c662221c-fad3-4456-bfe3-78f8a5211158
Siddique, Zahra
90024014-78cd-415b-92e1-9c2c84dca172
October 2017
Biavaschi, Costanza
919e31b6-c1a3-4681-8ff2-92ad4ffbadfd
Giulietti, Corrado
c662221c-fad3-4456-bfe3-78f8a5211158
Siddique, Zahra
90024014-78cd-415b-92e1-9c2c84dca172
Biavaschi, Costanza, Giulietti, Corrado and Siddique, Zahra
(2017)
The economic payoff of name Americanization.
Journal of Labor Economics, 35 (4), .
(doi:10.1086/692531).
Abstract
We provide the first evidence on the magnitude and consequences of the Ameri- canization of migrants names in the early 20th century. We construct a longitudinal dataset of naturalization records, tracking migrants and their naming choices over time. We consistently find that migrants who Americanized their names experienced larger occupational upgrading than those who did not. Name Americanization embodies an intention to assimilate among low-skilled migrants and reveals the existence of pref- erences for American names within the labor market. We conclude that the trade-off between individual identity and labor market success was present then, as it is today.
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Accepted/In Press date: 4 August 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 June 2017
Published date: October 2017
Keywords:
Americanization, names, assimilation, migration
Organisations:
Economics, Centre for Population Change
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 411019
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/411019
ISSN: 0734-306X
PURE UUID: 6143e0f1-2dbe-4141-9aba-8ee73903f896
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Date deposited: 13 Jun 2017 16:31
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 05:25
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Author:
Costanza Biavaschi
Author:
Zahra Siddique
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