Segregation and the Initial Provision of Water in the United States / Brian Beach, John Parman, Martin H. Saavedra.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beach, Brian.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Parman, John.

Saavedra, Martin H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w29678.

NBER working paper series no. w29678

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.

Summary:

U.S. cities invested heavily in water and sewer infrastructure throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These investments improved public health and quality of life by helping U.S. cities control typhoid fever and other waterborne diseases. We show that segregated cities invested in water infrastructure earlier but were slower to reach universal access and slower to eliminate typhoid fever. We develop a theoretical model that illustrates how segregation, by facilitating the exclusion of Black households from water and sewer systems, explains these seemingly paradoxical findings.

Notes:

Print version record

January 2022.