Working Paper: NBER ID: w25700
Authors: Philipp Ager; Leah Platt Boustan; Katherine Eriksson
Abstract: The nullification of slave wealth after the U.S. Civil War (1861-65) was one of the largest episodes of wealth compressions in history. We document that white Southern households holding more slave assets in 1860 lost substantially more wealth by 1870, relative to households that had been equally wealthy before the war. Yet, the sons of former slaveholders recovered relative to comparable sons by 1900, and grandsons surpassed their counterparts in educational and occupational attainment by 1940. We find that social networks facilitated this recovery, with sons marrying into other former slaveholding families. Transmission of entrepreneurship and skills appear less central.
Keywords: Wealth Shock; Intergenerational Transmission; Civil War; Southern Economy; Social Networks
JEL Codes: J62; N11
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wealth shock from nullification of slave wealth in 1860 (N91) | Greater wealth losses by 1870 (N93) |
| Greater wealth losses by 1870 (N93) | Sons of former slaveholders recover economic status by 1900 (N91) |
| Sons of former slaveholders recover economic status by 1900 (N91) | Grandsons surpass in educational and occupational attainment by 1940 (I24) |
| Social networks (Z13) | Recovery of wealth and status among former slaveholders' descendants (G51) |