Deck 16: Population Growth and the Atlantic Migration

Question 1

The percentage of foreign-born people living in the U.S.continued to rise after the Civil War.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Long information lags,bad harvests,high degrees of government intervention in private affairs and other "push-effects" often decreased net migration in the U.S.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The nonwhite percentage of the U.S.population rose after the Civil War.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Information and opportunity costs affected patterns of emigration to the U.S.

Question 5

When the U.S.economy expands,foreign investment in and immigration to the U.S.usually contracts.

Question 6

Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I,the U.S.economy was not able to effectively absorb the millions of immigrants it received.

Question 7

Brinley Thomas' (1954)thesis explains

A) fluctuations in immigration.
B) fluctuations in European domestic investment.
C) fluctuations in European foreign investment.
D) all of the above.

Question 8

The American birth rate in 1860-1910

A) was kept high by the tendency of immigrant children to have large families.
B) increased steadily.
C) declined, on average.
D) rose dramatically after the Civil War due to the large numbers of immigrants ?having children in the U.S. to get U.S. citizenship.

Question 9

During the postbellum period,per capita real output could not keep pace with population growth.

Question 10

The population theory of Thomas Malthus

A) would have predicted the changes in per output in this country in the ?19th century and up to 1910.
B) would lead you to expect a powerful surge in physical output as ?the immigration poured in.
C) would not have predicted the positive trend increase in per capita ?output and income in 1860-1910.
D) does not apply to any of the above.

Question 11

The number of people living in urban areas fell after the Civil War and then increased as World War I approached.

Question 12

In the four decades from 1860 to 1900,the U.S.population nearly tripled.Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

A) fell by more than the amount by which the population increased.
B) fell by the same amount by which the population increased.
C) rose at about the same rate as the population increase.
D) increased by even more than the population increase.

Question 13

Relative U.S.real wages and incomes played a role in influencing the decisions of foreign migrants.

Question 14

Net migration can help fuel population growth which,in turn,provides a positive incentive for businesses to expand production and employment.

Question 15

The large influx of immigrant families between 1860 and 1910 caused the total population to grow?at a faster rate than the work force.

Question 16

From the late 1860s until 1907 the U.S.averaged a four percent or more increase in the real value?of the goods and services produced.

Question 17

Young male adults provided the single largest group of migrants.This helped increase human capital in the U.S.

Question 18

The data show that the American national income grew fast enough-even when immigration rates are taken into account-to produce rising income per capita between 1860 and 1910.

Question 19

The demographic trends in population growth and migration after the Civil War differed significantly from those established before the War.

Question 20

According to the Thomas (1954)analysis,American investment in industrial physical capital was

A) labor-using in upswings of immigration.
B) labor-saving in upswings of immigration.
C) "labor neutral" over the course of immigration.
D) relentlessly labor-saving no matter what.

Question 21

According to Simon Kuznet's (1958)research,the pattern of immigration in 1865-1914

A) showed long swings but not the short-term business cycle fluctuations.
B) showed no long swings in the 1820-1860 period, but did show the business cycle.
C) showed both business cycle patterns and long swing patterns.
D) unlike 1820-1860, showed neither short cycles nor long swings, but was instead a ?steady surge after the Civil War ended.

Question 22

Why did it take several Congressional attempts to pass a law requiring immigrants to take a literacy test? Discuss the debate.

Question 23

Provide a detailed description of the Malthusian thesis and discuss its economic implications.

Question 24

What does Simon Kuznet's (1958)study on the U.S.economy show?

A) Short swings in the U.S. business cycles but steady, stable growth in ?Real Gross Domestic Product
B) Immigrants to the U.S. were attracted by the secular increases in U.S. real wages ?and incomes
C) A decrease, not increase, in net U.S. migration from 1860 to 1910
D) No movement in capital, only humans, across the Atlantic economy ?from 1860 to 1910

Question 25

Which of the following is true for the period between 1860 and 1910?

A) The number of people in the labor force increased at a faster pace than the total population.
B) The workday lengthened.
C) Real national income decreased.
D) All of the above.

Question 26

According to Thomas (1954),increased immigration provided incentive to invest in capital that was

A) labor-using, resulting in capital widening.
B) labor-saving, resulting in capital widening.

Question 27

In the Thomas (1954)model,

A) all nations near the Atlantic Ocean were considered one economic unit.
B) laborers, capital and other resources freely move to those users with the highest net returns.
C) the European economy moved inversely in relation to the U.S. economy and vice versa.
D) all of the above are true.

Question 28

The evidence shows that in 1860-1910

A) population and annual hours worked grew more rapidly than did the employed labor force.
B) population grew more rapidly than the labor force, but annual hours worked grew less rapidly.
C) population grew less rapidly than did the employed labor force, and the work day shortened.
D) population, productivity and the work day grew less rapidly than did the employed labor force.

Question 29

From 1860 to 1910,U.S.mobility between social classes and occupations

A) distracted immigrants.
B) increased the potential migrant's opportunity cost of staying in Europe.
C) attracted immigrants to the U.S.
D) decreased foreign investment in the U.S.

Question 30

Discuss the debate over why the U.S.ended immigration when it did.

Question 31

Discuss the Thomas (1954)model of migration and economic growth in the Atlantic economy.Compare it to the Simon Kuznets (1958)model.

Question 32

From 1860 to 1910,international net capital flow into the U.S.

A) was positive when the U.S. economy expanded.
B) was neutral and not influenced by the U.S. business cycle.
C) was negative when the U.S. economy grew.
D) was positively impacted by U.S. discussions about and actual restrictions ?on immigration.

Question 33

Discuss the debate over discrimination against immigrants in U.S.history.Identify the economic consequences of discrimination.

Question 34

From 1860 to 1910,U.S.statistical and qualitative evidence suggests that

A) many migrants came during the upswings in the U.S. business cycle.
B) the employment experiences and economic conditions of family and friends in the U.S. influenced the decisions of prospective immigrants.
C) economic desperation, social immobility and restricted labor opportunities "pushed" ?immigrants out of their homelands and into the U.S.
D) all of the above are true.

Question 35

Discuss the economic benefits and costs of the increase in the number of people living in urban areas after the Civil War.

Question 36

What does a study of immigration figures before 1921 indicate?

A) An overwhelming majority of immigrants came from the British Isles.
B) Voluntary immigrations slowed as 1921 approached.
C) The diversification of immigrants increased since the colonial period of U.S. history.
D) It is not possible to link immigration patterns and growth in the U.S. economy.

Question 37

In Brinley Thomas' (1954)theory of the Atlantic Economy,

A) cotton exports to Europe drove the growth of the U.S. economy.
B) people and capital moved to the U.S. when U.S. economic growth was strong.
C) the peaks of the U.S. business cycle were closely aligned with that of European peaks.
D) all of the above are true.

Question 38

Hughes and Cain (2011)give some credit to which of the following factors for the 1860-1910 increase in the number of people employed,shorter work days and higher real incomes?

A) A decrease in the number of immigrants
B) A closed economy with no imports coming into or exports going out of the U.S.
C) Mechanical power and capital accumulation
D) All of the above

Question 39

Discuss the immigration patterns in the U.S.economy between the Civil War and World War I.

Question 40

From 1860 to 1910,

A) The total population grew faster than the workforce.
B) National income grew faster than did total population.
C) The workday increased.
D) Foreign investment in the U.S. dropped continuously.

Question 41

Holding the economic implications constant for a moment,discuss the social and political implications of unrestricted immigration.

Question 42

Explain why the free flow of laborers and capital benefited the U.S.and European economies during the nineteenth century.

Question 43

Look at Figure 16.1.In your own words,describe the association between U.S.immigration patterns and swings in its business cycle.Provide the rationale behind this association.

Question 44

Assume there are no immigrants in the U.S.today.Describe what the economy looks like in terms?of production levels,employment levels,and overall prices.

Question 45

Explain how immigrants can contribute positively to a growing and developing economy.