Author Description

In this thesis, I explore the interactions between human capital and migration in multiple historical contexts. In chapter 1, I examine persistent human capital spillovers in rural China caused by a mass migration policy. Between 1962 and 1980, the Chinese government relocated about 18 million youths from urban to rural areas. The policy increased human capital stock in rural areas as migrants were more educated than the locals. With county-level migration data and an instrumental variable strategy, I find that send-down migration significantly increased the educational attainments in rural areas after the migrants returned to cities. The effects persisted until 2010, although the magnitude weakened over time. I also find that the cohorts who reached school age during the years of send-down policy were more strongly affected. Evidence shows that the persistent human capital spillovers can be explained by increase in capital-labor ratio in farm sector, occupational transition, or emigration out of rural area. In chapter 2, I estimate the effect of immigration on infant mortality rate at the Age of Mass Migration. Specifically, I use a shift-share instrument and town-level panel data from Massachusetts between 1860 and 1915 to estimate the impact over a long period. I find a significant positive effect of immigrant inflows on native infant mortality before 1900, with this effect diminishing after 1900. I also find suggestive evidence that this effect is due to communicable diseases and over-crowding. And the public health investment helped mitigate the negative effect. In chapter 3, I explore the Japanese evacuation program in WWII and its associated impact on West Coast farming. Japanese Americans in the farm sector were highly skilled before WWII. Their presence was associated with high agricultural productivity and significant farm success, particularly on the West Coast. For military purpose, tens of thousands of Japanese farmers and farm laborers were forcefully