IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v130y2018icp17-32.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The long-term effects of American Indian boarding schools

Author

Listed:
  • Gregg, Matthew T.

Abstract

This paper explores some long-standing questions of the legacy of American Indian boarding schools by comparing contemporary Indian reservations that experienced differing impacts in the past from boarding schools. Combining recent reservation-level census data and school enrollment data from 1911 to 1932, I find that reservations that sent a larger share of students to off-reservation boarding schools have higher high school graduation rates, higher per capita income, lower poverty rates, a greater proportion of exclusively English speakers, and smaller family sizes. These results are supported when distance to the nearest off-reservation boarding school that subsequently closed is used as an instrument for the proportion of past boarding school students. I conclude with a discussion of the possible reasons for this link.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregg, Matthew T., 2018. "The long-term effects of American Indian boarding schools," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 17-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:130:y:2018:i:c:p:17-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.09.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387817300664
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.09.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nathan Nunn, 2009. "The Importance of History for Economic Development," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 65-92, May.
    2. Donna L. Feir, 2016. "The long‐term effects of forcible assimilation policy: The case of Indian boarding schools," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(2), pages 433-480, May.
    3. Black, Sandra E. & Devereux, Paul J., 2011. "Recent Developments in Intergenerational Mobility," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 16, pages 1487-1541, Elsevier.
    4. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    5. Terry L. Anderson & Dominic P. Parker, 2008. "Sovereignty, Credible Commitments, and Economic Prosperity on American Indian Reservations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(4), pages 641-666, November.
    6. Alberto Bisin & Thierry Verdier, 2000. ""Beyond the Melting Pot": Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 955-988.
    7. Barbara Wolfe & Jessica Jakubowski & Robert Haveman & Marissa Courey, 2012. "The Income and Health Effects of Tribal Casino Gaming on American Indians," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(2), pages 499-524, May.
    8. Akee, Randall & Jorgensen, Miriam & Sunde, Uwe, 2015. "Critical junctures and economic development – Evidence from the adoption of constitutions among American Indian Nations," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 844-861.
    9. Anderson, Terry L & Lueck, Dean, 1992. "Land Tenure and Agricultural Productivity on Indian Reservations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 427-454, October.
    10. Bisin, Alberto & Verdier, Thierry, 2001. "The Economics of Cultural Transmission and the Dynamics of Preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 298-319, April.
    11. İ. Semih Akçomak & Dinand Webbink & Bas Weel, 2016. "Why Did the Netherlands Develop So Early? The Legacy of the Brethren of the Common Life," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 821-860, June.
    12. Randall K. Q. Akee & William E. Copeland & Gordon Keeler & Adrian Angold & E. Jane Costello, 2010. "Parents' Incomes and Children's Outcomes: A Quasi-experiment Using Transfer Payments from Casino Profits," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 86-115, January.
    13. William Evans & Wooyoung Kim, 2006. "The Impact of Local Labor Market Conditions on the Demand for Education: Evidence from Indian Casinos," Working Papers 06-14, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    14. Francisco A. Gallego & Robert Woodberry, 2010. "Christian Missionaries and Education in Former African Colonies: How Competition Mattered," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 19(3), pages 294-329, June.
    15. For the Cedar Project Partnership & Pearce, Margo E. & Christian, Wayne M. & Patterson, Katharina & Norris, Kat & Moniruzzaman, Akm & Craib, Kevin J.P. & Schechter, Martin T. & Spittal, Patricia M., 2008. "The Cedar Project: Historical trauma, sexual abuse and HIV risk among young Aboriginal people who use injection and non-injection drugs in two Canadian cities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2185-2194, June.
    16. Erik Meyersson, 2014. "Islamic Rule and the Empowerment of the Poor and Pious," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(1), pages 229-269, January.
    17. Randall Akee, 2009. "Checkerboards and Coase: The Effect of Property Institutions on Efficiency in Housing Markets," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 395-410, May.
    18. William N. Evans & Julie H. Topoleski, 2002. "The Social and Economic Impact of Native American Casinos," NBER Working Papers 9198, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Cornell, Stephen & Kalt, Joseph P, 1995. "Where Does Economic Development Really Come From? Constitutional Rule among the Contemporary Sioux and Apache," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(3), pages 402-426, July.
    20. Carlson, Leonard A., 1981. "Land allotment and the decline of American Indian farming," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 128-154, April.
    21. Christian Dippel, 2014. "Forced Coexistence and Economic Development: Evidence From Native American Reservations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82, pages 2131-2165, November.
    22. Elias, Brenda & Mignone, Javier & Hall, Madelyn & Hong, Say P. & Hart, Lyna & Sareen, Jitender, 2012. "Trauma and suicide behaviour histories among a Canadian indigenous population: An empirical exploration of the potential role of Canada's residential school system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(10), pages 1560-1569.
    23. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    24. Cornell, Stephen & Kalt, Joseph P., 2000. "Where's the glue? Institutional and cultural foundations of American Indian economic development," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 443-470.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Donn Feir & M. Chris Auld, 2017. "The Effect of Indian Residential Schools on Height and Body Mass Post-1930," Department Discussion Papers 1703, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    2. Carlos, Ann M. & Feir, Donna L. & Redish, Angela, 2022. "Indigenous Nations and the Development of the U.S. Economy: Land, Resources, and Dispossession," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 516-555, June.
    3. Sascha O. Becker, 2022. "Forced displacement in history: Some recent research," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 2-25, March.
    4. Chen, Qihui & Chen, Yu & Zhao, Qiran, 2020. "Impacts of boarding on primary school students’ mental health outcomes – Instrumental-Variable evidence from rural northwestern China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    5. Leonard, Bryan & Parker, Dominic P. & Anderson, Terry L., 2020. "Land quality, land rights, and indigenous poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    6. Donn L Feir & Rob Gillezeau & Maggie E C Jones, 2024. "The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(3), pages 1634-1670.
    7. Donna L. Feir & M. Christopher Auld, 2021. "Indian residential schools: Height and body mass post‐1930," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(1), pages 126-163, February.
    8. Liu, Mengqi & Villa, Kira M., 2020. "Solution or isolation: Is boarding school a good solution for left-behind children in rural China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Donn L Feir & Rob Gillezeau & Maggie E C Jones, 2024. "The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(3), pages 1634-1670.
    2. Laurel Wheeler, 2019. "Property Rights, Place-Based Policies, and Economic Development," Working Papers 19-16, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    3. Leonard, Bryan & Parker, Dominic P. & Anderson, Terry L., 2020. "Land quality, land rights, and indigenous poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Donn Feir & Rob Gillezeau & Maggie Jones, 2017. "The Slaughter of the North American Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains," Department Discussion Papers 1701, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    5. Aragón, Fernando M., 2015. "Do better property rights improve local income?: Evidence from First Nations' treaties," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 43-56.
    6. Randall Akee & Elton Mykerezi & Richard M. Todd, 2017. "Reservation Employer Establishments: Data from the U.S. Census Longitudinal Business Database," Working Papers 17-57, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Akee, Randall & Jorgensen, Miriam & Sunde, Uwe, 2015. "Critical junctures and economic development – Evidence from the adoption of constitutions among American Indian Nations," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 844-861.
    8. Jordan Karl Lofthouse, 2019. "Culture and Native American economic development," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 21-39, November.
    9. Ennio E. Piano & Louis Rouanet, 2024. "The calculus of american indian consent: the law and economics of tribal constitutions," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 341-366, June.
    10. Dimitrova-Grajzl, Valentina & Grajzl, Peter & Guse, A. Joseph & Todd, Richard M., 2015. "Consumer credit on American Indian reservations," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 518-540.
    11. Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl & Peter Grajzl & A. Joseph Guse & Richard M. Todd & Michael Williams, 2018. "Neighborhood Racial Characteristics, Credit History, and Bankcard Credit in Indian Country," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 60(3), pages 410-441, September.
    12. Alston, Eric & Crepelle, Adam & Law, Wilson & Murtazashvili, Ilia, 2021. "The chronic uncertainty of American Indian property rights," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 473-488, June.
    13. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga & Otrachshenko, Vladimir, 2022. "Stalin and the origins of mistrust," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    14. Randall Akee & Elton Mykerezi & Richard Todd, 2020. "Business Dynamics on American Indian Reservations: Evidence from Longitudinal Datasets," Working Papers 20-38, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    15. Terry L. Anderson & Ilia Murtazashvili & Dominic P. Parker, 2024. "The political economy of American Indian policy: introduction to a special issue," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 187-191, June.
    16. Bredtmann, Julia & Höckel, Lisa Sofie & Otten, Sebastian, 2020. "The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes: Evidence from immigrant mothers-in-law," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 101-115.
    17. Claudia Olivetti & Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2020. "Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 266-301.
    18. Christian Dippel & Dustin Frye & Bryan Leonard, 2020. "Property Rights without Transfer Rights: A Study of Indian Land Allotment," NBER Working Papers 27479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Oded Galor & Ömer Özak, 2016. "The Agricultural Origins of Time Preference," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(10), pages 3064-3103, October.
    20. Vincent Boucher & Carlo L. Del Bello & Fabrizio Panebianco & Thierry Verdier & Yves Zenou, 2023. "Education Transmission and Network Formation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 129-173.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Development; Assimilation; American Indians;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:130:y:2018:i:c:p:17-32. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.