TY - JOUR T1 - Education and Incarceration in the Jim Crow South JF - Journal of Human Resources JO - J Hum Resour SP - 43 LP - 75 DO - 10.3368/jhr.55.2.0816.8142R VL - 55 IS - 1 AU - Katherine Eriksson Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/1/43.abstract N2 - 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. ER -