| Abstract: |
The study focuses on the temporal differences (30 years on average) between
ethnic groups migrating from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the U.S. between
1850 and 1910. In our study, we argue that the main factor that led to
differences in the timing of emigration was the differences in regional
economic development of different ethnic groups living in different regions of
the Empire. Migration costs: before the 1864 introduction of steam engine
technology in transatlantic maritime transport, emigration costs were not
affordable for Hungarians and Slovaks due to the sea and land voyage high
ticket prices. Therefore, with more resources, Austrians and Czechs could
afford to migrate earlier. However, after the introduction of steamship
technology and the technological change in ship engines, travel became more
affordable due to reduced ticket prices, faster voyages, and increased
capacity. This allowed Hungarians and Slovaks from poorer regions to begin
migrating in larger numbers as migration became economically feasible. In this
study, we utilise a complete count of the U.S. Census records from 1900 and
1910 (Helgertz et al., 2023; Ruggles et al., 2021), which Integrated Public
Use Microdata Series (IPUMS). On the other hand, we utilise economic
indicators, which are regional daily wage, GDP per capita income and living
standard data for the Austria-Hungary Empire from Cvrcek (2013) and Schulze
(2000). |