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Returns to school resources in the Jim Crow South

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  • Carruthers, Celeste K.
  • Wanamaker, Marianne H.

Abstract

We estimate returns to school resources in the Jim Crow era, as measured by young males' 1940 wage earnings, occupational status, and cognitive aptitude scores. Results point to a 16 cent annual return on each $1 invested in public schools. To the question of whether some school inputs mattered more than others, we find comparable 25–32 cent returns per dollar invested in extended school years, teacher salaries, and smaller classes. School spending and inputs had much more bearing on labor market outcomes than aptitude scores. We document diminishing returns to school expenditures, which, in combination with segregated schools, resulted in higher returns to expenditures in black schools relative to white.

Suggested Citation

  • Carruthers, Celeste K. & Wanamaker, Marianne H., 2017. "Returns to school resources in the Jim Crow South," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 104-110.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:64:y:2017:i:c:p:104-110
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2017.02.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hanushek, Eric A & Rivkin, Steven G & Taylor, Lori L, 1996. "Aggregation and the Estimated Effects of School Resources," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 611-627, November.
    2. George E. Johnson & Frank P. Stafford, 1973. "Social Returns to Quantity and Quality of Schooling," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(2), pages 139-155.
    3. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J & Masterov, Dimitriy V, 2005. "Labor Market Discrimination and Racial Differences in Premarket Factors," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 1-39, April.
    4. John S. Akin & Irwin Garfinkel, 1977. "School Expenditures and the Economic Returns to Schooling," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 12(4), pages 460-481.
    5. Richard Raymond, 1968. "Determinants of the Quality of Primary and Secondary Public Education in West Virginia," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 3(4), pages 450-470.
    6. Paul Wachtel, 1975. "The Effect of School Quality on Achievement, Attainment Levels, and Lifetime Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Explorations in Economic Research, Volume 2, number 4, pages 502-536, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Celeste K. Carruthers & Marianne H. Wanamaker, 2017. "Separate and Unequal in the Labor Market: Human Capital and the Jim Crow Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 655-696.
    8. Thomas I. Ribich & James L. Murphy, 1975. "The Economic Returns to Increased Educational Spending," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 10(1), pages 56-77.
    9. Morgenstern, Richard D, 1973. "Direct and Indirect Effects on Earnings of Schooling and Socio-Economic Background," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(2), pages 225-233, May.
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    Cited by:

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    2. James J. Feigenbaum & Hui Ren Tan, 2019. "The Return to Education in the Mid-20th Century: Evidence from Twins," NBER Working Papers 26407, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Inwood, Kris & Minns, Chris & Summerfield, Fraser, 2019. "Occupational income scores and immigrant assimilation. Evidence from the Canadian census," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 114-122.
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    6. Ian P. McManus, 2024. "Workforce automation risks across race and gender in the United States," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(2), pages 463-492, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School quality; Discrimination; Race; Returns to schooling; Segregation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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