Educational Selection in the Migration of Southern Blacks, 1880-1990

During the twentieth century millions of African Americans have migrated from the South to northern cities. Contrasting descriptions of this migration stream have been presented in the literature--some emphasizing the rural origins and lack of schooling of migrants others claiming that migrants were positively selected from the southern black population. This study uses the newly available Integrated Public Use Microdata Series to compare the educational characteristics of southern migrants with (1) the southern population they left behind and (2) the northern population they joined. Consistent with the expectations of migration theory and previous evidence for specific time periods the findings show that between 1880 and 1990 black migrants had significantly higher levels of education than the sedentary southern population and significantly lower levels of education than the northern-born population. Both differentials grew smaller as the century progressed. (EXCERPT)