The Costs of Employment Segregation: Evidence from the Federal Government Under Woodrow Wilson*

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Aneja, Abhay; Xu, Guo
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjab040
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 911-958
• 关键词: CIVIL-RIGHTS; earnings differences; racial-inequality; southern blacks; home ownership; DISCRIMINATION; RACE; migration; ACT; WILSON; WOODROW

摘要

We link newly digitized personnel records of the U.S. government for 1907-1921 to census data to study the segregation of the civil service by race under President Woodrow Wilson. Using a difference-in-differences design around Wilson's inauguration, we find that the introduction of employment segregation increased the black-white earnings gap by 3.4-6.9 percentage points. This increasing gap is driven by a reallocation of existing black civil servants to lower-paid positions, lowering their returns to education. Importantly, the negative effects extend beyond Wilson's presidency. Using census data for 1900-1940, we show that segregation caused a relative decline in the home ownership rate of black civil servants. Moreover, by comparing children of black and white civil servants in adulthood, we provide suggestive evidence that descendants of black civil servants who were exposed to Wilson's presidency exhibit lower levels of education, earnings, and social mobility. Our combined results thus document significant short- and long-run costs borne by minorities during a unique episode of state-sanctioned discrimination.