The Effect of Immigration Restrictions on Local Labor Markets: Lessons from the 1920s Border Closure
研究了1920年代美国实施移民配额后，不同地区因移民来源构成差异而受到的不同影响，发现本土工人并未受益，而是出现了内部移民和资本替代等调整。
In the 1920s, the United States substantially reduced immigration by imposing country-specific entry quotas. We compare local labor markets differentially exposed to the quotas due to variation in the national-origin mix of their immigrant population. US-born workers in areas losing immigrants did not benefit relative to workers in less exposed areas. Instead, in urban areas, European immigrants were replaced with internal migrants and immigrants from Mexico and Canada. By contrast, farmers shifted toward capital-intensive agriculture, and the immigrant-intensive mining industry contracted. These differences highlight the uneven effects of the quota system at the local level.