RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Education and Incarceration in the Jim Crow South
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 43
OP 75
DO 10.3368/jhr.55.2.0816.8142R
VO 55
IS 1
A1 Katherine Eriksson
YR 2020
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/1/43.abstract
AB 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.