This paper analyzes migrant self-selection from Portugal between 1885 and 1930 for both men and women. Leveraging newly digitized data on migrants’ characteristics across districts and literacy as a selection indicator, we document that self-selection was positive over the entire period but varied markedly across space and time. In some districts, migrants’ literacy was similar to the general population, while in others over three times as large. In line with models of household migration, selection was significantly lower among migrant women, who were more likely to be tied movers. Our econometric analyses show a large negative relationship between migrant flows and self-selection, notably among men. We also find that the vintage of networks mattered differently by gender: male self-selection was more responsive to recent flows, while female self-selection was mostly influenced by past flows.

中文翻译：

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葡萄牙大规模移民期间男性和女性的自我选择，1885 年至 1930 年

本文分析了 1885 年至 1930 年间来自葡萄牙的男性和女性移民的自我选择。利用有关各地区移民特征和识字率的新数字化数据作为选择指标，我们记录了自我选择在整个时期都是积极的，但在空间和时间上存在显着差异。在一些地区，流动人口的识字率与普通人口相似，而在另一些地区，则为普通人口的三倍多。与家庭移民模式一致，女性移民的选择明显较低，她们更有可能成为搭便车者。我们的计量经济学分析表明，移民流动与自我选择之间存在很大的负相关关系，尤其是男性的自我选择。我们还发现，网络的年份对性别的影响不同：男性的自我选择对最近的流量更敏感，而女性的自我选择主要受过去的流量影响。