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The Long-Run Effects of the 1930s Redlining Maps on Children

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Listed:
  • Daniel Aaronson
  • Daniel Hartley
  • Bhashkar Mazumder
  • Martha Stinson

Abstract

We estimate the long-run effects of the 1930s Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps by linking children in the full count 1940 census to 1) the universe of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax data in 1974 and 1979 and 2) the long form 2000 census. We use two identification strategies to estimate the potential long-run effects of differential access to credit along HOLC boundaries. The first strategy compares cross-boundary differences along HOLC boundaries to a comparison group of boundaries that had statistically similar preexisting differences as the actual boundaries. A second approach only uses boundaries that were least likely to have been chosen by the HOLC based on our statistical model. We find that children living on the lower-graded side of HOLC boundaries had significantly lower levels of educational attainment, reduced income in adulthood, and lived in neighborhoods during adulthood characterized by lower educational attainment, higher poverty rates, and higher rates of single-parent households.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Aaronson & Daniel Hartley & Bhashkar Mazumder & Martha Stinson, 2023. "The Long-Run Effects of the 1930s Redlining Maps on Children," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(3), pages 846-862, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:aea:jeclit:v:61:y:2023:i:3:p:846-62
    DOI: 10.1257/jel.20221702
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    Cited by:

    1. Manon Garrouste & Miren Lafourcade, 2022. "Place-Based Policies: Opportunity for Deprived Schools or Zone-and-Shame Effect?," Post-Print hal-04329793, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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