The American Frontier: Technology versus Immigration

How important was international immigration for the U.S. and its demography during the nineteenth century? This paper investigates, quantitatively, its effect on the westward movement of population and the regional and secular changes in fertility. Beside immigration, two alternative forces are considered: technological progress and the land policy (the Homestead Act). An optimal growth model with endogenous fertility and migration is calibrated, and counterfactual experiments reveal that the main driving forces were productivity growth and the declining cost of transportation. International immigration played a lesser role. ∗This is a revised version of the third chapter of my dissertation submitted to the University of Rochester, and previously circulated under the title “The American Frontier: One Hundred Years of Western Settlement.” I am very thankful to Jeremy Greenwood for his support and guidance. I am also indebted to two anonymous referees for useful comments. Finally, I would like to thank participants at the 2004 SED meetings in Florence. Department of Economics, University of Southern California, 3620 S. Vermont Ave, KAP 324F, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0253. Email: vandenbr at usc dot edu.