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Political participation in a violent society: The impact of lynching on voter turnout in the post-Reconstruction South

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  • Jones, Daniel B.
  • Troesken, Werner
  • Walsh, Randall

Abstract

How does violence against a group affect political participation? In theory, the targeted group may either become politically mobilized or may become discouraged and withdraw from political participation. To address this question, we assess the impact of lynchings on differential rates of black turnout in the post-Reconstruction American South. We first provide evidence that lynchings are not politically motivated. We then show that, even though lynchings were not politically motivated, exposure to lynching reduced local black voter turnout by roughly 2.5 percentage points. A series of specification tests suggest this relationship can be interpreted as causal.

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  • Jones, Daniel B. & Troesken, Werner & Walsh, Randall, 2017. "Political participation in a violent society: The impact of lynching on voter turnout in the post-Reconstruction South," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 29-46.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:129:y:2017:i:c:p:29-46
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.08.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriela Okundaye & John Ishiyama & Andrea Silva, 2022. "Premigratory political experiences with autocracy and violence and immigrants’ willingness to vote," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1032-1047, September.
    2. James J. Feigenbaum & Soumyajit Mazumder & Cory B. Smith, 2020. "When Coercive Economies Fail: The Political Economy of the US South After the Boll Weevil," NBER Working Papers 27161, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. María Angelica Bautista & Felipe González & Luis R. Martínez & Pablo Munoz & Mounu Prem, 2018. "The Geography of Repression and Support for Democracy: Evidence from the Pinochet Dictatorship," Documentos de Trabajo 17007, Universidad del Rosario.
    4. Gabriela Okundaye & John Ishiyama, 2024. "Premigratory experiences with Civil War violence and social trust," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 105(2), pages 253-266, March.
    5. Liam Rose & Asha Shepard, 2022. "Examining persistent effects of extractive institutions in the United States," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 142-170, March.
    6. Petach, Luke, 2024. "That Old Time Religion: Christianity and Black Economic Progress After Reconstruction," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1480, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Miaari, Sami H. & Loewenthal, Amit & Adnan, Wifag, 2022. "Do Economic Changes Affect the Political Preferences of Arabs in Israel?," IZA Discussion Papers 14988, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Craig Palsson, 2022. "The medium‐run effects of a foreign election intervention: Haiti's presidential elections, 2010–2015," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(2), pages 369-390, April.
    9. Palsson, Craig, 2023. "The forces of path dependence: Haiti's refugee camps, 1937–2009," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    10. Sotiris Kampanelis & Aldo Elizalde, 2024. "Lynching and economic opportunities: Evidence from the US South," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(4), pages 977-1003, November.

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