Working Paper: NBER ID: w9770
Authors: William J. Collins; Robert A. Margo
Abstract: African-Americans entered the post-Civil War era with extremely low levels of exposure to schooling. Relying primarily on micro-level census data, we describe racial differences in literacy rates, school attendance, years of educational attainment, age-in-grade distributions, spending per pupil, and returns to literacy since emancipation, with emphasis on the pre-1960 period. The overwhelming theme is one of educational convergence, despite overt discrimination for much of the period studied, and subject to several qualifications. We interpret this theme in light of a simple model of educational attainment.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I2; J7; N31; N32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| historical factors (B15) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| legacy of slavery (J47) | schooling disparities (I24) |
| institutional discrimination (J71) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| conditions inherited from slavery (J47) | barriers to education for black children (I24) |
| successive generations of African Americans (J79) | narrowing racial gaps in schooling (I24) |
| cohort replacement (C59) | decline in illiteracy rates (I21) |
| emancipation (J47) | educational opportunities (I24) |