Literacy and Occupation among Free People in the Antebellum United States

Barry Chiswick () and RaeAnn Robinson
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Barry Chiswick: George Washington University
RaeAnn Robinson: La Salle University

No 19045, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: This paper uses the 1860 U.S. Census 1 percent microdata sample to examine literacy patterns among free adults and their association with labor market outcomes. Applying human capital frameworks to a historical context, we evaluate literacy determinants using logistic regression across demographic traits, including gender, nativity, race, age, and regional proximity to slavery. OLS regression models reveal a robust, positive relationship between literacy and occupational income scores (IPUMS), which remains significant using predicted literacy to address measurement error. While our approach likely underestimates literacy’s full economic value by capturing occupational shifts rather than intra-occupational gains, findings confirm that mid-nineteenth-century human capital was strongly tied to higher economic standing.

Keywords: literacy; human capital; occupational status; occupational income score; 1860 Census of Population; antebellum United States; labor market analysis; unreported family workers; immigrants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J62 N31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp19045

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