Economic Opportunity on the urban frontier: nativity, work, and wealth in early chicago
利用1850和1860年联邦人口普查手稿数据，研究芝加哥成年男性财富的影响因素，发现年龄和居住时长显著增加财富，而出生地无显著影响，表明早期芝加哥为定居者提供了非凡的经济机会。
This article uses evidence drawn from the manuscripts of the 1850 and 1860 federal censuses to investigate the correlates of the wealth of adult males in Chicago. The analysis reveals rapidly increasing wealth with age, a substantial positive effect on wealth of duration of residence in the city, and an absence of any significant impact of nativity on wealth when controlling occupation. Mean wealth rose from well below the national average in 1850 to a level far above the national average in 1860. Together these results suggest that early Chicago was a place of exceptional economic opportunity for settlers.