Working Paper: NBER ID: w9752
Authors: Howard Bodenhorn
Abstract: This paper investigates the economics of pauper apprenticeship in antebellum Maryland and several results emerge. Contrary to some earlier interpretations, the system did not arbitrarily indent poor children. Court officials negotiated contracts that reflected an apprentice's productivity; officials did not offer one-size-fits-all contracts to minimize the costs of indenting indigent children. Black and white children received comparable compensation during the term of the indenture, but blacks were promised and received substantially less education than whites. It was in the provision of education that Maryland's system discriminated against blacks and undermined their ability to achieve long-run economic independence.
Keywords: pauper apprenticeship; racial differences; education; economic independence
JEL Codes: N31; J71; J24; J15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Race of the apprentice (Y60) | Educational opportunities provided (I24) |
| Educational opportunities provided (I24) | Long-term economic independence (O29) |
| Race of the apprentice (Y60) | Long-term economic independence (O29) |
| Race of the apprentice (Y60) | Apprenticeship in less skilled trades (J24) |