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Bad Men, Good Roads, Jim Crow, and the Economics of Southern Chain Gangs

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  • Howard Bodenhorn

Abstract

Penology in the Jim Crow South centered on the chain gang. Gangs ostensibly served three purposes: their severity served as a deterrent; their putting convicts to work on roads and other public improvements reduced the taxpayers’ costs of infrastructure; and their discriminatory implementation reinforced the social order defined by Jim Crow. Drawing on insights from the economics of crime literature, this paper analyzes whether chain gangs reduced road maintenance costs. Using a fixed-effects design, the analysis finds that the costs of using gangs in road maintenance were marginally lower on average than using wage labor. The results are consistent with county officials choosing between convict and free labor in manner consistent with minimizing taxpayers’ costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Howard Bodenhorn, 2021. "Bad Men, Good Roads, Jim Crow, and the Economics of Southern Chain Gangs," NBER Working Papers 28405, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28405
    Note: DAE LE
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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