Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
Debunking Immigration Myths: A Review Essay of Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 62,
no. 2, June 2024
(pp. 739–60)
Abstract
This essay reviews Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan. This elegantly written book, which is a must-read for anyone interested in the topic of immigration, walks the reader through a history of US immigration, examining patterns of immigrant assimilation from the mid-nineteenth century to today. The book challenges two myths about US immigration. First, it shows that historical European immigrants did not always arrive poor and quickly climb the economic and social ladder. Second, it documents that the pace of immigrant assimilation today resembles that prevailing at the turn of the twentieth century.Citation
Tabellini, Marco. 2024. "Debunking Immigration Myths: A Review Essay of Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success." Journal of Economic Literature, 62 (2): 739–60. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20231754Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J18 Demographic Economics: Public Policy
- K37 Immigration Law
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification