Leah Boustan
Biographic Data
| ID | 1065622 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Leah Boustan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Leah |
| FAMILY NAME | Boustan |
| SIGNATURE | BOUSTAN L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Economics, University of California, Los Angeles |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Computerized Machine Tools and the Transformation of U.S. Manufacturing
The diffusion of computerized machine tools in the mid-20th century was a pivotal step in the century-long process of factory automation. We build a novel measure of exposure to computer numerical control (CNC) using initial variation in tool types across industries and differential shifts toward CNC by type. Industries more exposed to CNC from 1970–2007 increased labor productivity and reduced production employment. Workers in more exposed labor…
Finding John Smith: Using Extra Information for Historical Record Linkage
Introduction to special issue of Journal of Urban Economics: Race, Social Justice, and Cities
JUE Insight: White flight from Asian immigration: Evidence from California Public Schools
Leaving the Enclave: Historical Evidence on Immigrant Mobility from the Industrial Removal Office
The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generation. Benefits increased with more years spent outside of an enclave. Participants were more likely to speak English, and married spouses with less Jewis…
JUE Insight: Condominium development does not lead to gentrification
Automated Linking of Historical Data
The recent digitization of complete count census data is an extraordinary opportunity for social scientists to create large longitudinal datasets by linking individuals from one census to another or from other sources to the census. We evaluate different automated methods for record linkage, performing a series of comparisons across methods and against hand linking. We have three main findings that lead us to conclude that automated methods perfo…
Variation in Women’s Success across PhD Programs in Economics
We document wide and persistent variation in women’s representation and success across graduate programs in economics. Using new data on early career outcomes for recent graduates, including first job placement, publications, and promotion, we rank (anonymized) departments on outcomes for women relative to men graduating from the same program. We then conduct interviews with faculty and former students from five programs with better and worse rel…
To the New World and Back Again: Return Migrants in the Age of Mass Migration
The authors compile large data sets from Norwegian and US historical censuses to study return migration during the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1913). Norwegian immigrants who returned to Norway held lower-paid occupations than did Norwegian immigrants who stayed in the United States, both before and after their first transatlantic migration, suggesting they were negatively selected from the migrant pool. Upon returning to Norway, return migrants …
Immigration in American Economic History
The United States has long been perceived as a land of opportunity for immigrants. Yet, both in the past and today, US natives have expressed concern that immigrants fail to integrate into US society and lower wages for existing workers. This paper reviews the literatures on historical and contemporary migrant flows, yielding new insights on migrant selection, assimilation of immigrants into US economy and society, and the effect of immigration o…
Racial Differences in Health in the United States: A Long-Run Perspective
The United States has a long and ongoing history of racial inequality. This chapter surveys the literature on one aspect of that history: long-run trends in racial differences in health. We focus on standard measures such as infant mortality and life expectancy but also consider available data on specific diseases and chronic conditions. Our basic conclusion is that large improvements have occurred in the average health of African Americans durin…
The Effect of Rising Income Inequality on Taxation and Public Expenditures: Evidence from U.S. Municipalities and School Districts, 1970–2000
The income distribution in many developed countries widened dramatically from 1970 to 2000. Some scholars argue that income inequality contributes to a host of social ills by undermining voters' willingness to support public expenditures. In contrast, we find that growing income inequality is associated with an expansion in government revenues and expenditures on a wide range of services in U.S. municipalities and school districts. Results are ro…
Population Trends as a Counterweight to Central City Decline, 1950–2000
The share of metropolitan residents living in central cities declined dramatically from 1950 to 2000. We argue that cities would have lost even further ground if not for demographic trends such as renewed immigration, delayed childbearing, and a decline in the share of households headed by veterans. We provide causal estimates of the effect of children on residential location using the birth of twins. The effect of veteran status is identified fr…
Racial Residential Segregation in American Cities
This article examines the causes and consequences of residential segregation in the metropolitan areas of the United States, with an emphasis on segregation between black and white households. In theory, residential segregation may be generated by black selfsegregation, collective action to exclude blacks from white neighborhoods, or individual moves by white households away from integrated neighborhoods. Understanding the causes of residential s…
To the New World and Back Again: Return Migrants in the Age of Mass Migration
The authors compile large data sets from Norwegian and US historical censuses to study return migration during the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1913). Norwegian immigrants who returned to Norway held lower-paid occupations than did Norwegian immigrants who stayed in the United States, both before and after their first transatlantic migration, suggesting they were negatively selected from the migrant pool. Upon returning to Norway, return migrants …
Population Trends as a Counterweight to Central City Decline, 1950–2000
The share of metropolitan residents living in central cities declined dramatically from 1950 to 2000. We argue that cities would have lost even further ground if not for demographic trends such as renewed immigration, delayed childbearing, and a decline in the share of households headed by veterans. We provide causal estimates of the effect of children on residential location using the birth of twins. The effect of veteran status is identified fr…
JUE Insight: White flight from Asian immigration: Evidence from California Public Schools
Leaving the Enclave: Historical Evidence on Immigrant Mobility from the Industrial Removal Office
The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generation. Benefits increased with more years spent outside of an enclave. Participants were more likely to speak English, and married spouses with less Jewis…
Racial Residential Segregation in American Cities
This article examines the causes and consequences of residential segregation in the metropolitan areas of the United States, with an emphasis on segregation between black and white households. In theory, residential segregation may be generated by black selfsegregation, collective action to exclude blacks from white neighborhoods, or individual moves by white households away from integrated neighborhoods. Understanding the causes of residential s…
The Effect of Rising Income Inequality on Taxation and Public Expenditures: Evidence from U.S. Municipalities and School Districts, 1970–2000
The income distribution in many developed countries widened dramatically from 1970 to 2000. Some scholars argue that income inequality contributes to a host of social ills by undermining voters' willingness to support public expenditures. In contrast, we find that growing income inequality is associated with an expansion in government revenues and expenditures on a wide range of services in U.S. municipalities and school districts. Results are ro…
Population Trends as a Counterweight to Central City Decline, 1950–2000
The share of metropolitan residents living in central cities declined dramatically from 1950 to 2000. We argue that cities would have lost even further ground if not for demographic trends such as renewed immigration, delayed childbearing, and a decline in the share of households headed by veterans. We provide causal estimates of the effect of children on residential location using the birth of twins. The effect of veteran status is identified fr…
Racial Differences in Health in the United States: A Long-Run Perspective
The United States has a long and ongoing history of racial inequality. This chapter surveys the literature on one aspect of that history: long-run trends in racial differences in health. We focus on standard measures such as infant mortality and life expectancy but also consider available data on specific diseases and chronic conditions. Our basic conclusion is that large improvements have occurred in the average health of African Americans durin…
Immigration in American Economic History
The United States has long been perceived as a land of opportunity for immigrants. Yet, both in the past and today, US natives have expressed concern that immigrants fail to integrate into US society and lower wages for existing workers. This paper reviews the literatures on historical and contemporary migrant flows, yielding new insights on migrant selection, assimilation of immigrants into US economy and society, and the effect of immigration o…
Variation in Women’s Success across PhD Programs in Economics
We document wide and persistent variation in women’s representation and success across graduate programs in economics. Using new data on early career outcomes for recent graduates, including first job placement, publications, and promotion, we rank (anonymized) departments on outcomes for women relative to men graduating from the same program. We then conduct interviews with faculty and former students from five programs with better and worse rel…
To the New World and Back Again: Return Migrants in the Age of Mass Migration
The authors compile large data sets from Norwegian and US historical censuses to study return migration during the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1913). Norwegian immigrants who returned to Norway held lower-paid occupations than did Norwegian immigrants who stayed in the United States, both before and after their first transatlantic migration, suggesting they were negatively selected from the migrant pool. Upon returning to Norway, return migrants …
Automated Linking of Historical Data
The recent digitization of complete count census data is an extraordinary opportunity for social scientists to create large longitudinal datasets by linking individuals from one census to another or from other sources to the census. We evaluate different automated methods for record linkage, performing a series of comparisons across methods and against hand linking. We have three main findings that lead us to conclude that automated methods perfo…
JUE Insight: Condominium development does not lead to gentrification
Introduction to special issue of Journal of Urban Economics: Race, Social Justice, and Cities
JUE Insight: White flight from Asian immigration: Evidence from California Public Schools
Leaving the Enclave: Historical Evidence on Immigrant Mobility from the Industrial Removal Office
The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generation. Benefits increased with more years spent outside of an enclave. Participants were more likely to speak English, and married spouses with less Jewis…
Computerized Machine Tools and the Transformation of U.S. Manufacturing
The diffusion of computerized machine tools in the mid-20th century was a pivotal step in the century-long process of factory automation. We build a novel measure of exposure to computer numerical control (CNC) using initial variation in tool types across industries and differential shifts toward CNC by type. Industries more exposed to CNC from 1970–2007 increased labor productivity and reduced production employment. Workers in more exposed labor…
Finding John Smith: Using Extra Information for Historical Record Linkage
Economics (10 works) · Demographic economics (9 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Demography (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Immigration (5 works) · Demography (4 works) · Development economics (4 works) · Migration and Labor Dynamics (4 works)