PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Eriksson, Katherine
TI  - Education and Incarceration in the Jim Crow South: Evidence from Rosenwald Schools
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.55.2.0816.8142R
DP  - 2018 Aug 03
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0816-8142R
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2018/08/01/jhr.55.2.0816.8142R.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2018/08/01/jhr.55.2.0816.8142R.full
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 dataset of incarcerated and non-incarcerated 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 US.