Exposure, Integration, and Interracial Marriage: Evidence from The Great Migration and Residential Segregation

Abstract

Interracial marriage offers a measure of social integration between racial groups. This paper studies the effects of social interactions on racial integration in the marriage market using two historical quasi-experiments. I use a shift-share instrument to find that the Great Migration increased the prevalence of interracial marriage but the magnitude of this increase is small relative to the change in Black population. This relationship is muted in high-segregation cities, suggesting that residential segregation limited the social integration response to the Great Migration. Additionally, I use railroad track placement to instrument for residential segregation and find that residential segregation decreased interracial marriage. Together, this evidence suggests that social interactions played a role in the increase in interracial marriage in the non-Southern 20th century United States.