IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v159y2019icp526-538.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Moving North and into jail? The great migration and black incarceration

Author

Listed:
  • Eriksson, Katherine

Abstract

Black incarceration rates in the U.S. grew relative to white incarceration rates throughout the first half of the 20th century despite substantial convergence in education levels and wages between the two groups. This paper considers the First Great Migration prior to 1940 as a factor which increased black male incarceration rates. I construct an individual-level dataset of all Southern-born male prisoners and non-prisoners in the 1940 US Census; both groups are matched to their childhood household in the 1920 Census in order to control for across-household selection using household fixed effects. I estimate that migrating to the North roughly doubled an individual's chance of being incarcerated, increasing the probability of incarceration by 2 percentage points. I estimate that the Great Migration was responsible for about 6% of the sharp increase in black incarceration rates between 1920 and 1940.

Suggested Citation

  • Eriksson, Katherine, 2019. "Moving North and into jail? The great migration and black incarceration," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 526-538.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:159:y:2019:i:c:p:526-538
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2018.04.024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016726811830132X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.04.024?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. Katherine Eriksson & Gregory T. Niemesh & Melissa Thomasson, 2017. "Revising Infant Mortality Rates for the Early 20th Century United States," NBER Working Papers 23263, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Daniel Aaronson & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2011. "The Impact of Rosenwald Schools on Black Achievement," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(5), pages 821-888.
    3. Feigenbaum, James J. & Muller, Christopher, 2016. "Lead exposure and violent crime in the early twentieth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 51-86.
    4. Robert A. Margo, 1990. "Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950: An Economic History," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number marg90-1.
    5. Carolyn Moehling & Anne Piehl, 2014. "Immigrant assimilation into US prisons, 1900–1930," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 173-200, January.
    6. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    7. Thomas M. Lyons & James J. Heckman & Petra E. Todd, 2000. "Understanding Black-White Wage Differentials, 1960-1990," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 344-349, May.
    8. William J. Collins & Marianne H. Wanamaker, 2014. "Selection and Economic Gains in the Great Migration of African Americans: New Evidence from Linked Census Data," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 220-252, January.
    9. Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote, 1999. "Why Is There More Crime in Cities?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 225-258, December.
    10. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2012. "Europe's Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses: Self-Selection and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(5), pages 1832-1856, August.
    11. Collins, Wiiliam J., 1997. "When the Tide Turned: Immigration and the Delay of the Great Black Migration," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 607-632, September.
    12. Suresh Naidu, 2010. "Recruitment Restrictions and Labor Markets: Evidence from the Postbellum U.S. South," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 413-445, April.
    13. Katherine Eriksson, 2015. "Access to Schooling and the Black-White Incarceration Gap in the Early 20th Century US South: Evidence from Rosenwald Schools," NBER Working Papers 21727, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Dan A. Black & Seth G. Sanders & Evan J. Taylor & Lowell J. Taylor, 2015. "The Impact of the Great Migration on Mortality of African Americans: Evidence from the Deep South," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(2), pages 477-503, February.
    15. Smith, James P & Welch, Finis R, 1989. "Black Economic Progress after Myrdal," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 519-564, June.
    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. Eric Melander & Martina Miotto, 2023. "Welfare Cuts and Crime: Evidence from the New Poor Law," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(651), pages 1248-1264.
    2. Melissa Rubio-Ramos, 2022. "From Plantations to Prisons: The Race Gap in Incarceration After the Abolition of Slavery in the U.S," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 195, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    3. Collins, William J., 2021. "The Great Migration of Black Americans from the US South: A guide and interpretation," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Shi, Ying & Hartley, Daniel & Mazumder, Bhash & Rajan, Aastha, 2022. "The effects of the Great Migration on urban renewal," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Boustan & Katherine Eriksson & James Feigenbaum & Santiago Pérez, 2021. "Automated Linking of Historical Data," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 865-918, September.
    6. Gagliarducci, Stefano & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Faith and Assimilation: Italian Immigrants in the US," IZA Discussion Papers 14567, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Cavit Baran & Eric Chyn & Bryan A. Stuart, 2024. "The Great Migration and Educational Opportunity," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 354-398, July.
    8. Calderon, Alvaro & Fouka, Vasiliki & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Racial Diversity and Racial Policy Preferences: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," IZA Discussion Papers 14488, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Vu, Cecilia & Arcaya, Mariana C. & Kawachi, Ichiro & Williams, David R., 2023. "Moving to opportunity? Low birth weight outcomes among Southern-born Black mothers during the Great Migration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    10. Calderon, Alvaro & Fouka, Vasiliki & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "Racial Diversity, Electoral Preferences, and the Supply of Policy: The Great Migration and Civil Rights," IZA Discussion Papers 14312, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Katherine Eriksson, 2015. "Access to Schooling and the Black-White Incarceration Gap in the Early 20th Century US South: Evidence from Rosenwald Schools," NBER Working Papers 21727, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Margo, Robert A., 2016. "Obama, Katrina, and the Persistence of Racial Inequality," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 76(2), pages 301-341, June.
    3. Cavit Baran & Eric Chyn & Bryan A. Stuart, 2024. "The Great Migration and Educational Opportunity," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 354-398, July.
    4. Bryan A. Stuart & Evan J. Taylor, 2021. "The Effect of Social Connectedness on Crime: Evidence from the Great Migration," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 18-33, March.
    5. Collins, William J. & Wanamaker, Marianne H., 2015. "The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 947-992, December.
    6. Celeste K. Carruthers & Marianne H. Wanamaker, 2017. "Separate and Unequal in the Labor Market: Human Capital and the Jim Crow Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 655-696.
    7. William J. Collins & Marianne H. Wanamaker, 2014. "Selection and Economic Gains in the Great Migration of African Americans: New Evidence from Linked Census Data," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 220-252, January.
    8. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Boustan, 2017. "Immigration in American Economic History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1311-1345, December.
    9. Jung, Yeonha, 2020. "The long reach of cotton in the US South: Tenant farming, mechanization, and low-skill manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    10. Xie, Bin, 2017. "The Effects of Immigration Quotas on Wages, the Great Black Migration, and Industrial Development," IZA Discussion Papers 11214, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Bryan A. Stuart & Evan J. Taylor, 2021. "Migration Networks and Location Decisions: Evidence from US Mass Migration," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 134-175, July.
    12. Timothy J. Hatton & Zachary Ward, 2024. "International Migration in the Atlantic Economy 1850–1940," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 507-535, Springer.
    13. Collins, William J., 2021. "The Great Migration of Black Americans from the US South: A guide and interpretation," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    14. David Card & Ciprian Domnisoru & Lowell Taylor, 2022. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Evidence from the Golden Age of Upward Mobility," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(S1), pages 39-95.
    15. William J. Collins & Marianne H. Wanamaker, 2017. "African American Intergenerational Economic Mobility Since 1880," NBER Working Papers 23395, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Philipp Ager & Casper Worm Hansen, 2017. "Closing Heaven’s Door: Evidence from the 1920s U.S.Immigration Quota Acts," Discussion Papers 17-22, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    17. J. Trent Alexander & Christine Leibbrand & Catherine Massey & Stewart Tolnay, 2017. "Second-Generation Outcomes of the Great Migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2249-2271, December.
    18. Jung, Yeonha, 2018. "How The Legacy of Slavery Has Survived: A Mechanism through Labor Market Institutions and Human Capital," SocArXiv snpg2, Center for Open Science.
    19. Jung, Yeonha, 2023. "Formation of the legacy of slavery: Evidence from the US South," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    20. Carruthers, Celeste K. & Wanamaker, Marianne H., 2013. "Closing the gap? The effect of private philanthropy on the provision of African-American schooling in the U.S. south," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 53-67.

    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:jeborg:v:159:y:2019:i:c:p:526-538. 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/jebo .

    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.