At the NBER Labor Studies Program meeting, Enrico Moretti presented his paper with Luisa Gagliardi and Michel Serafinelli “The World’s Rust Belts: The Heterogeneous Effects of Deindustrialization on 1,993 Cities in Six Countries”. He showed that the recovery from deindustrialization (the period between the peak of manufacturing in each country to present) varied across manufacturing hubs, and at least some of that variation came from variation in educational attainment of the populations within those hubs.
One example he provided of a manufacturing hub that recovered from deindustrialization and had high educational opportunities in the form of colleges was Pittburgh, Pennsylvania. At least part of my family is from Pittsburgh and worked in manufacturing. So, I looked into how my family experienced this period.
Milton Loehr, my great-grandfather, was born in Pittsburgh in 1910. In 1930, the Census revealed he worked as a clerk at a hinge factory, alongside his older sister, Edith, who was employed as a stenographer. Additionally, his older brother worked at a steel mill. One year later, Milton had changed professions and was employed by the Atlantic Refrigeration Company. By 1940, he had moved to the service industry, becoming a packer at Boggs and Buhl department store.
Milton's career spanned the rise of manufacturing up until just before its peak in 1970. His children, including my grandmother, were born during this period, and experienced the peak of manufacturing and the start of deindustrialization, being around 30 years old in 1970.
The 1950 Decennial Census is the most recent Decennial Census released, meaning there is sparse data about my grandmother's generation. But from the records that exist, my family was not significantly impacted by their hometown's changes in manufacturing or education opportunities; instead, they were heavily invested in the military, particularly the Navy. My great-grandfather stayed in Pittsburgh, but his children relocated to various areas: South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and California. I am part of the California branch.
I had hoped that connecting the example from the presentation to my family would provide a good anecdote. However, the wars of that era have had a greater impact on their outcomes.