Oil discoveries and education spending in the Postbellum South

Stephan Maurer

CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of oil wealth on the provision of education in the early 20th century United States. Using information on the location and discovery of major oil fields, I find that oil wealth increased local revenue and education spending. The quality of white teachers increased, and oil-rich counties were more likely to participate in the Rosenwald school building program for blacks. In addition, student-teacher ratios for black school children declined substantially. However, I do not find increased school enrolment rates for either race.

Keywords: oil; education; race; rosenwald; local public finances; resource booms; teachers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 N3 Q3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-ene, nep-his and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Oil discoveries and education spending in the postbellum south (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1526

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