We examine the impact of the Americanization of names on labor market outcomes of migrants. We construct a longitudinal dataset of naturalization records, tracking over time migrants who naturalised by 1930. Our analysis shows that returns to name Americanization are between 5 and 10% in terms of occupation-based earnings increases. Using an index based on Scrabble points to instrument for name Americanization, we show that these estimates are not only driven by differences across migrants. We conclude that the tradeoff between individual identity and labor market success has been present since the early making of modern America.
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Corrado Giulietti is Director of Research at Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA). He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Southampton in January 2010. His research interests are labor economics and applied econometrics, with a focus on the determinants of migration, the labor market and welfare effects of migration, the assimilation of immigrants, and the estimation of migration flows. Corrado joined IZA as a Research Associate in March 2010. From September 2010 until February 2013 he served as Deputy Program Director for the Migration Area. From October 2011 until February 2013 he was Deputy Director of Research. He became IZA Director of Research in March 2013.
Discussant:
Mary Hallward-Driemeier
Mary Hallward-Driemeier is Senior Principal Specialist in the World Bank’s Jobs Cross-Cutting Solutions Area. Having joined the World Bank in 1997 as a Young Professional, she has been a Lead Economist in the Development Research Group and Advisor to the Chief Economist. She has published widely on entrepreneurship, firm productivity and firm dynamics, the impact of financial crises, and women's economic empowerment. She is a co-leader of the Jobs Knowledge Platform, a partnership facilitating the exchange of data and findings on expanding job opportunities in developing countries. She was the Deputy Director for the World Development Report 2005: A Better Investment Climate for Everyone and a founding member of the Microeconomics of Growth Network. Mary received her Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T., a M.Sc. in Development Economics from Oxford University where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and an B.A. from Harvard University.
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