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Education and Incarceration in the Jim Crow South: Evidence from Rosenwald Schools
- Journal of Human Resources
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Volume 55, Number 1, Winter 2020
- pp. 43-75
- Article
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ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the effect of childhood access to primary schooling on adult black incarceration in the early 20th century. I construct a linked census data set of incarcerated and nonincarcerated men to observe access to schooling in childhood. I find that full exposure to one of the new primary schools built as part of the Rosenwald program reduces the probability of incarceration by 1.9 percentage points. I argue that the reduction in incarceration comes from increased opportunity costs of crime through higher educational attainment. These results contribute to a broader literature on racial gaps in social outcomes in the United States.