The first two essays of this dissertation use policy experiments to show that low-skilled newly arriving immigrants help keep the economy in geographic equilibrium by differentially selecting destinations that provide better labor market prospects. The first essay finds that immigrants choose...

The first paper demonstrates the important role of job displacement in the household bankruptcy decision. Consistent with predicted filing behavior under persistent income shocks, I find that households in the NLSY are four times more likely to file in the year following job loss, with a smaller...