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The Role of Migration in Regional Wage Convergence: Evidence from Sweden 1860–1940

Enflo, Kerstin LU orcid ; Lundh, Christer LU and Prado, Svante (2014) In Explorations in Economic History 52. p.93-110
Abstract
Sweden experienced a decline in inter-county real wage differentials for agricultural workers between 1860 and 1940, historical evidence of early labour market integration well before widespread unionization in agriculture occurred. By means of dynamic panel data analysis, this paper examines whether internal and external migration caused real wage beta convergence across Swedish counties. To account for statistical problems such as endogeneity of migration, time-invariant county characteristics and autocorrelation in the regression model, we adjust our estimates using fixed effects, instrumental variables and GMM. The preferred model shows that both internal and external migration contributed to wage convergence before the First World War... (More)
Sweden experienced a decline in inter-county real wage differentials for agricultural workers between 1860 and 1940, historical evidence of early labour market integration well before widespread unionization in agriculture occurred. By means of dynamic panel data analysis, this paper examines whether internal and external migration caused real wage beta convergence across Swedish counties. To account for statistical problems such as endogeneity of migration, time-invariant county characteristics and autocorrelation in the regression model, we adjust our estimates using fixed effects, instrumental variables and GMM. The preferred model shows that both internal and external migration contributed to wage convergence before the First World War and internal migration mainly during the interwar years. The agglomeration effects of urbanization were not sufficiently pervasive to offset the labour supply effects of internal and external migration. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
wage convergence, migration, panel data
in
Explorations in Economic History
volume
52
pages
93 - 110
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000336111300005
  • scopus:84898454038
ISSN
0014-4983
DOI
10.1016/j.eeh.2013.12.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
95108b98-ccfb-4089-846d-8e7d1bb860d4 (old id 4173879)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:22:26
date last changed
2022-03-14 05:31:16
@article{95108b98-ccfb-4089-846d-8e7d1bb860d4,
  abstract     = {{Sweden experienced a decline in inter-county real wage differentials for agricultural workers between 1860 and 1940, historical evidence of early labour market integration well before widespread unionization in agriculture occurred. By means of dynamic panel data analysis, this paper examines whether internal and external migration caused real wage beta convergence across Swedish counties. To account for statistical problems such as endogeneity of migration, time-invariant county characteristics and autocorrelation in the regression model, we adjust our estimates using fixed effects, instrumental variables and GMM. The preferred model shows that both internal and external migration contributed to wage convergence before the First World War and internal migration mainly during the interwar years. The agglomeration effects of urbanization were not sufficiently pervasive to offset the labour supply effects of internal and external migration.}},
  author       = {{Enflo, Kerstin and Lundh, Christer and Prado, Svante}},
  issn         = {{0014-4983}},
  keywords     = {{wage convergence; migration; panel data}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{93--110}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Explorations in Economic History}},
  title        = {{The Role of Migration in Regional Wage Convergence: Evidence from Sweden 1860–1940}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2013.12.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eeh.2013.12.001}},
  volume       = {{52}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}