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Health, human capital, and African-American migration before 1910

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Author Info
Logan, Trevon D.

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Abstract

Using both IPUMS and the Colored Troops Sample of the Civil War Union Army Data, I estimate the effects of literacy and health on the migration propensities of African-Americans from 1870 to 1910. I find that literacy and health shocks were strong predictors of migration and the stock of health was not. There were differential selection propensities based on slave status--former slaves were less likely to migrate given a specific health shock than free blacks. Counterfactuals suggest that as much as 35% of the difference in the mobility patterns of former slaves and free blacks is explained by differences in their human capital, and more than 20% of that difference is due to health alone. Overall, the selection effect of literacy on migration is reduced by one-tenth to one-third once health is controlled for. The low levels of human capital accumulation and rates of mobility for African-Americans after the Civil War are partly explained by the poor health status of slaves and their immediate descendants.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WFJ-4T84K55-1/2/3c7f785d9350d5f4f7c8f171915a7a2b
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Explorations in Economic History.

Volume (Year): 46 (2009)
Issue (Month): 2 (April)
Pages: 169-185
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Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:46:y:2009:i:2:p:169-185

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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622830

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Related research
Keywords: Health Migration Civil war African-Americans;

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  1. Anne Case & Darren Lubotsky & Christina Paxson, 2002. "Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1308-1334, December. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Bruce Sacerdote, 2005. "Slavery and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 217-234, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Mincer, Jacob, 1978. "Family Migration Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 749-73, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Anne Case & Christina Paxson, 2006. "Stature and status: Height, ability, and labor market outcomes," Working Papers 27, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing.. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Chulhee Lee, 2005. "Health, Information, and Migration: Geographic Mobility of Union Army Veterans, 1860-1880," NBER Working Papers 11207, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Dora L. Costa, 2003. "Race and Pregnancy Outcomes in the Twentieth Century: A Long-Term Comparison," NBER Working Papers 9593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Vigdor, Jacob L., 2002. "The Pursuit of Opportunity: Explaining Selective Black Migration," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 391-417, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Fogel, Robert William, 1975. "Three Phases of Cliometric Research on Slavery and Its Aftermath," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(2), pages 37-46, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Steckel, Richard H., 1986. "Birth weights and infant mortality among American slaves," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 173-198, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Higgs, Robert, 1982. "Accumulation of Property by Southern Blacks before World War I," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(4), pages 725-37, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Margo, Robert A, 1984. "Accumulation of Property by Southern Blacks before World War I: Comment and Further Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 768-76, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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