Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/300449 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. WP 2024-06
Publisher: 
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Abstract: 
Does education lead to political engagement? The empirical literature is mixed. Theory suggests economic context matters. Individuals unable to take advantage of education in the labor market are more likely to engage in political activity. We find support for this channel during the rapid expansion of NAACP branches in the South around WWII. Branch growth was stronger where Black workers were denied returns to schooling due to Jim Crow occupational discrimination. We further show that a pre-1931 large-scale school construction program caused greater NAACP activity during the 1940s and 1950s when many former students were in their prime working years.
Subjects: 
education
human capital
social returns to education
NAACP
Rosenwald Schools
civil rights
civil rights movement
political participation
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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