When the Levee Breaks : Black migration and economic development in the American South / Richard Hornbeck, Suresh Naidu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hornbeck, Richard, author.

Naidu, Suresh, author.

Series:

Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; Number 18296.

Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; Number 18296

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American agricultural laborers--Southern States.

African American agricultural laborers.

African Americans--Southern States.

African Americans.

Agricultural innovations--History.

Agricultural innovations.

Floods--Mississippi River Valley--History--20th century.

Floods.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (41 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012.

Summary:

In the American South, post-bellum economic stagnation has been partially attributed to white landowners' access to low-wage black labor; indeed, Southern economic convergence from 1940 to 1970 was associated with substantial black out-migration. This paper examines the impact of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 on agricultural development. Flooded counties experienced an immediate and persistent out-migration of black population. Over time, landowners in flooded counties dramatically mechanized and modernized agricultural production relative to landowners in nearby similar non-flooded counties. Landowners resisted black out-migration, however, benefiting from the status quo system of labor-intensive agricultural production.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.