Competition in the Promised Land

"In Competition in the Promised Land, Leah Boustan brings original arguments and new evidence to the study of the Great Migration of southern African Americans. The welcome result is an innovative and significant contribution to the literature that demands the attention of all scholars interested in the African American experience."--Stewart Tolnay, University of Washington"A masterful contribution to understanding twentieth-century black and American history. Combining new data sources with sophisticated historical and economic analysis, Boustan presents important new interpretations of the causes and consequences of black migration from South to North and of 'white flight' from northern urban areas to the suburbs."--Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester"Competition in the Promised Land revisits the economic history of black migration from the American South using state-of-the-art tools from empirical economics applied to fresh historical data. The book's analysis goes far beyond those provided by previous scholars and Boustan is able to reach sharper and more robust conclusions. The writing is exceptional."--Robert A. Margo, Boston University"The first book-length economic historical treatment of the Great Migration, Competition in the Promised Land offers new findings in a number of areas. Although migration offered a substantial positive return to black Southerners, there were losers as well as gainers. Relying on sound scholarship, Boustan backs her findings with a more rigorous quantitative approach than that of previous studies."--Gavin Wright, Stanford University