Joe Long from the Northwestern University (et al.) acknowledges one of the problems with this analysis is it covers a period when the region being studied, the western states of the United States, did pretty well.
The conclusion of the work though is although white miners in the west were beneficiaries of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the reduced number of Chinese workers in the United States led to a deterioration in quality of jobs held by other white and U.S.-born labour.
Moreover, this economic retardation (to be clear, we’re talking about slower not negative growth), slowed economic growth in the western states until at least 1940.
This study jibes with others that have looked at negative economic consequences Spain suffered in the 17th century when it expelled Jews or that WWII Russia experienced for the same reason.
For those unfamiliar with America’s polices regarding Chinese immigration the note is a useful history lesson. I was surprised to learn that the act often referred to as having been ‘repealed’ in 1943 allowed from that time only 105 Chinese per year to settle. Some repeal!
Also interesting to note that other governments followed the U.S. lead, Canada being a notable example, and that Japanese were also caught up along the way in the ‘Yellow Peril’ anxiety that informed and infused politics for what was a surprisingly long period.
A sorry period whose lessons continue to have obvious currency today.
You can read the paper in full via this link The Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on the Economic Development of the Western U.S
Happy Sunday.