Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Effects of the G.I. Bill and World War II on the Educational Outcomes of Black Americans

Sarah Turner and John Bound

No 9044, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The effects of the G.I. Bill on collegiate attainment may have differed for black and white Americans owing to differential returns to education and differences in opportunities at colleges and universities, with men in the South facing explicitly segregated colleges. The empirical evidence suggests that World War II and the availability of G.I. benefits had a substantial and positive impact on the educational attainment of white men and black men born outside the South. However, for those black veterans likely to be limited to the South in their educational choices, the G.I. Bill had little effect on collegiate outcomes, resulting in the exacerbation of the educational differences between black and white men from southern states.

JEL-codes: I2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-07
Note: LS PE ED
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published as Turner, Sarah and John Bound. "Closing The Gap Or Widening The Divide: The Effects Of The G.I. Bill And World War II On The Educational Outcomes Of Black Americans," Journal of Economic History, 2003, v63(1,Mar), 145-177.

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