The In-Hospital Mortality Rates of Slaves and Freemen: Evidence from Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1855–1860

Jonathan Pritchett () and Myeong-Su Yun ()

No 3652, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using a rich sample of admission records from New Orleans Touro Infirmary, we examine the in-hospital mortality risk of free and enslaved patients. Despite a higher mortality rate in the general population, slaves were significantly less likely to die in the hospital than the whites. We analyze the determinants of in-hospital mortality at Touro using Oaxaca-type decomposition to aggregate our regression results. After controlling for differences in characteristics and maladies, we find that much of the mortality gap remains unexplained. In conclusion, we propose an alternative explanation for the mortality gap based on the selective hospital admission of slaves.

Keywords: New Orleans; Touro; slavery; Oaxaca-type decomposition; hospital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 J15 N31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2008-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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Published - published in: Explorations in Economic History, 2009, 46 (2), 241-252

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Journal Article: The in-hospital mortality rates of slaves and freemen: Evidence from Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1855-1860 (2009)
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