Gregory Clark and Neil Cummins, 2017
Abstract
The North of England in recent years has been poorer, less healthy, less educated and
slower growing than the South. Using two sources - surnames that had a different regional
distribution in England in the 1840s, and a detailed genealogy of 119,000 people in England
giving birth and death locations - we show that the decline of the North is mainly explained
by selective outmigration of the educated and talented. Surnames associated with the north
in 1840, for example, show no disadvantage relative to those associated with the south in
terms of educational attainment, occupation, and political power in 2017 in England as a
whole. Similarly, in the individual genealogies migrants from the north were more educated,
wealthier, and have higher occupational status than the resident southern population, even
back in 1800. But stayers in the north were less educated, poorer, and with lower occupational
status. This implies that policies designed to aid the population in the north in the form
of regional investments, or encouragement of migration south, are likely to be ineffective in
boosting outcomes for the remaining northern population.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen