Long-Run Impacts of Agricultural Shocks on Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Boll Weevil
Richard B. Baker,
John Blanchette and
Katherine Eriksson ()
The Journal of Economic History, 2020, vol. 80, issue 1, 136-174
Abstract:
The boll weevil spread across the South from 1892 to 1922 with devastating effect on cotton cultivation. The resulting shift away from this child labor–intensive crop lowered the opportunity cost of school attendance. We investigate the insect’s long-run effect on educational attainment using a sample of adults from the 1940 census linked back to their childhood census records. Both white and black children who were young (ages 4 to 9) when the weevil arrived saw increased educational attainment by 0.24 to 0.36 years. Our results demonstrate the potential for conflict between child labor in agriculture and educational attainment.
Date: 2020
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Working Paper: Long-run Impacts of Agricultural Shocks on Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Boll Weevil (2018) 
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jechis:v:80:y:2020:i:1:p:136-174_5
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