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Hatred and Profits: Under the Hood of the Ku Klux Klan

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  • Roland G. Fryer
  • Steven D. Levitt

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the 1920s Ku Klux Klan, those who joined it, and its social and political impact by combining a wide range of archival data sources with data from the 1920 and 1930 U.S censuses. We find that individuals who joined the Klan in some cities were more educated and more likely to hold professional jobs than the typical American. Surprisingly, we find little evidence that the Klan had an effect on black or foreign-born residential mobility or vote totals. Rather than a terrorist organization, the 1920s Klan is best described as social organization with a very successful multilevel marketing structure fueled by an army of highly incentivized sales agents selling hatred, religious intolerance, and fraternity in a time and place where there was tremendous demand. JEL Codes: D71, D72, R23, N32. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2012. "Hatred and Profits: Under the Hood of the Ku Klux Klan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1883-1925.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:127:y:2012:i:4:p:1883-1925
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/qje/qjs028
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Chan & Anindya Ghose & Robert Seamans, 2013. "The Internet and Hate Crime: Offline Spillovers from Online Access," Working Papers 13-02, NET Institute.
    2. Brodeur, Abel & Yousaf, Hasin, 2019. "The Economics of Mass Shootings," IZA Discussion Papers 12728, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Brodeur, Abel & Yousaf, Hasin, 2022. "On the Economic Consequences of Mass Shootings," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1133, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Jacob Lyngsie & Nicolai J. Foss, 2017. "The more, the merrier? Women in top‐management teams and entrepreneurship in established firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 487-505, March.
    5. Werner Troesken & Randall Walsh, 2017. "Collective Action, White Flight, and the Origins of Formal Segregation Laws," NBER Working Papers 23691, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Jones, Daniel B. & Troesken, Werner & Walsh, Randall, 2017. "Political participation in a violent society: The impact of lynching on voter turnout in the post-Reconstruction South," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 29-46.
    7. Ilyana Kuziemko & Ebonya Washington, 2016. "Why did the Democrats lose the South? Bringing new data to an old debate," Working Papers 2016-1, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    8. Betul Turkum, 2023. "The Effect of Mass Migration on Economic Development," AMSE Working Papers 2332, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    9. CARR, Joel, 2022. "BLM protests and racial hate crime in the United States," Working Papers 2022008, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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