Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/268028 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
ECONtribute Discussion Paper No. 195
Publisher: 
University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Reinhard Selten Institute (RSI), Bonn and Cologne
Abstract: 
This paper documents the emergence of a race gap in incarceration after the abolition of slavery in the U.S. Counties that relied more on slave labor incarcerated more African Americans, with no comparable effects for whites. An increase of slave reliance by 10% increases black incarceration rates by 1.8-per-1,000. This effect is associated with an increased use of prison labor. Consistent with this, I show that arrests increase before cotton harvesting and incarceration declines after exogenous shocks that decrease the demand for labor. I find no evidence for supply-side mechanisms, according to which former slaves commit more crimes
Subjects: 
Slavery
US
Incarceration
JEL: 
J15
J47
K31
N31
N91
N92
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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