ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the complex and varied relationships that link migration and Norway's rapid economic growth prior to First World War. The effect of emigration on Norwegian farming can be traced through a number of direct and indirect channels. The most important of these concerns the farmer's shrinking profit margin. Norwegian peasants faced a number of threatening challenges. A popular anecdote on the rebirth of the Norwegian shipping industry illustrates the potential spill-over effects of emigration on economic development. Norwegian 19th century history is filled with stories of young adventurers who travel to America in search of a fortune. The first formal national response to the threat of emigration came already in 1845, when a ministerial committee was assembled to report on the problem of emigration. American immigrants sent a substantial amount of money home in the form of remittances. Ingrid Semmingsen claims that remittances totaling some 20 million kroner were sent back to Norway in 1905.
