Chain migration was an important factor in European migrants' decisions in the nineteenth century. This article demonstrates that previous migrations have long-run effects and continue to impact the decisions of future migrants for many years. Chain migration produces not only more migration but different migrants. Migrants from over 1,300 different German villages are classified as networked and non-networked. The most definitive results from comparing the two types of migrants are the figures on cash assets because they support the model's prediction that socially networked migrants needed less cash than non-networked migrants to accomplish their migration goals.

Self-selection mechanisms are important because they shed light on what has been relevant to those who migrate, especially in the nineteenth century. Using new micro data gathered from emigrant permit lists and census data in the homeland, I compare over , German emigrants to those who stayed at home. I find that artisans were over-represented and farmers and labourers both under-represented. The emigrant population was positively self-selected in terms of skills, but negatively self-selected in terms of financial wealth.

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