Working Paper: NBER ID: w28405
Authors: Howard Bodenhorn
Abstract: Penology in the Jim Crow South centered on the chain gang. Gangs ostensibly served three purposes: their severity served as a deterrent; their putting convicts to work on roads and other public improvements reduced the taxpayers’ costs of infrastructure; and their discriminatory implementation reinforced the social order defined by Jim Crow. Drawing on insights from the economics of crime literature, this paper analyzes whether chain gangs reduced road maintenance costs. Using a fixed-effects design, the analysis finds that the costs of using gangs in road maintenance were marginally lower on average than using wage labor. The results are consistent with county officials choosing between convict and free labor in manner consistent with minimizing taxpayers’ costs.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: K42; N12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| convict labor (J47) | lower costs (D61) |
| wage labor (J38) | higher costs (J32) |
| county officials (H79) | choice between convict and wage labor (J47) |
| gang sizes (C92) | efficiency of convict gangs (K14) |
| external factors (like WWI) (N44) | changes in gang sizes (P37) |
| cost savings (D61) | endogeneity threat (C20) |