The Long‐Term Consequences of Cultural Distance on Migration: Historical Evidence from China

2017/08/06 by Nan Li · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Anthropology #China #Cultural diversity #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #Demography #Development economics #Economic geography #Economics #Empirical evidence #Geographical distance #Geography #Historical Economic and Social Studies #History #Human migration #Internal migration #Population #Sociology #Term (time)

paper · doi:10.1111/aehr.12134

openalex publication_date 2017/08/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

This paper uses a unique dataset of long‐run migration in China to provide new measures of cultural distance based on biological evidence. We utilise this information to examine the effect of cultural distance on migration in China from the Song Dynasty until the twentieth century. Our findings show that culture has strong effects on migration between regions when controlling for other socio‐economic and geographical factors. Population flow is greater where there are fewer cultural differences. This finding not only provides quantitative empirical evidence on linking cultural distance and migration but also leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms resulting in migration for much of China's history.

Citations

• What Drove the Mass Migrations from Europe in the Late Nineteenth Century?
• Religion and Economic Growth across Countries
• Understanding institutional change: Fast-moving and slow-moving institutions
• Racial Harassment, Ethnic Concentration, and Economic Conditions*
• Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour
• Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal
• Robust Inference With Multiway Clustering
• In the name of the father: surnames and genetics
• People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes

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