Working Paper: NBER ID: w18296
Authors: Richard Hornbeck; Suresh Naidu
Abstract: In the American South, post-bellum economic stagnation has been partially attributed to white landowners' access to low-wage black labor; indeed, Southern economic convergence from 1940 to 1970 was associated with substantial black out-migration. This paper examines the impact of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 on agricultural development. Flooded counties experienced an immediate and persistent out-migration of black population. Over time, landowners in flooded counties dramatically mechanized and modernized agricultural production relative to landowners in nearby similar non-flooded counties. Landowners resisted black out-migration, however, benefiting from the status quo system of labor-intensive agricultural production.
Keywords: Black migration; Economic development; Agricultural mechanization; Mississippi flood
JEL Codes: N32; N52; O10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1927 Mississippi flood (H84) | black outmigration (F22) |
| black outmigration (F22) | agricultural mechanization and modernization (Q16) |
| 1927 Mississippi flood (H84) | agricultural mechanization and modernization (Q16) |
| 1927 Mississippi flood (H84) | changes in agricultural capital and farm sizes (Q15) |