The Peculiar Immobility: Regional Affinity and the Postbellum Black Migrant

15 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2012

See all articles by Philip E. Graves

Philip E. Graves

University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Economics

Robert L. Sexton

Pepperdine University - Economics Department

Richard K. Vedder

Ohio University - Department of Economics

Date Written: January 26, 2012

Abstract

Why did newly freed slaves and their descendants wait a half a century before migrating in large numbers to the superior economic opportunities in the North? Census lifetime migration data on both movers and stayers are examined intertemporally for both whites and blacks. Regression analysis reveals that before 1920 Southern blacks had a very strong affinity for the "Southern way of life."

Keywords: black migration, migration, amenities, wage convergence, amenities

JEL Classification: J01, J15, J2, J31, J61, N31, N32, N91, N92, R11, R23

Suggested Citation

Graves, Philip E. and Sexton, Robert L. and Vedder, Richard K., The Peculiar Immobility: Regional Affinity and the Postbellum Black Migrant (January 26, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1992699 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1992699

Philip E. Graves (Contact Author)

University of Colorado at Boulder - Department of Economics ( email )

Campus Box 256
Boulder, CO 80309-0256
United States

Robert L. Sexton

Pepperdine University - Economics Department ( email )

24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
United States

Richard K. Vedder

Ohio University - Department of Economics ( email )

Athens, OH 45701-2979
United States
740-593-0142 (Phone)
740-593-0097 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
94
Abstract Views
839
Rank
499,092
PlumX Metrics