TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond black and white
T2 - Color and mortality in post-reconstruction era North Carolina
AU - Green, Tiffany L.
AU - Hamilton, Tod G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research received support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program , the Kellogg Health Scholars Program , and award number T32HD049302 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to a number of individuals for their invaluable feedback, including our two anonymous referees, Rodney Andrews, Howard Bodenhorn, Gregory Price, Jeff Strickland, Roice Luke, William A. Darity Jr., Art Goldsmith, Darrick Hamilton, the directors and scholars of the UW-Madison Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program, and Jim Raymo and the participants of the Center for Demography and Ecology Seminar. We also thank Justin King for his exemplary research assistance, and the staff associated with the Minnesota Population Center, Wisconsin Historical Library and Archives, and UW-Madison Ebling Library for their assistance with data-related questions and issues. All errors and omissions are our own.
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - A growing empirical literature in economics and sociology documents the existence of more favorable social and economic outcomes among mixed-race blacks compared to non-mixed race blacks. However, few researchers consider whether the advantages associated with mixed-race status extend to mortality. To address this gap in the literature, we employ unique data from the 1880 North Carolina Mortality Census records in conjunction with data from 1880 U.S. Census of Population for North Carolina to examine whether mulatto (mixed-race) blacks experienced mortality advantages over to their colored (non-mixed race) counterparts from June 1879 to May 1880. For men between the ages of 20 and 44, estimates demonstrate that all black males, both mulatto and colored, were more likely than whites to die during the survey period. Although our results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in mortality between mulatto and colored black men, we find a substantial mortality advantage associated with mixed-race status among women.
AB - A growing empirical literature in economics and sociology documents the existence of more favorable social and economic outcomes among mixed-race blacks compared to non-mixed race blacks. However, few researchers consider whether the advantages associated with mixed-race status extend to mortality. To address this gap in the literature, we employ unique data from the 1880 North Carolina Mortality Census records in conjunction with data from 1880 U.S. Census of Population for North Carolina to examine whether mulatto (mixed-race) blacks experienced mortality advantages over to their colored (non-mixed race) counterparts from June 1879 to May 1880. For men between the ages of 20 and 44, estimates demonstrate that all black males, both mulatto and colored, were more likely than whites to die during the survey period. Although our results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in mortality between mulatto and colored black men, we find a substantial mortality advantage associated with mixed-race status among women.
KW - J1 - Demographic Economics
KW - J15 - Economics of Minorities and Races
KW - N00 - Economic History
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U2 - 10.1016/j.eeh.2012.06.002
DO - 10.1016/j.eeh.2012.06.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 25722496
AN - SCOPUS:84871479773
SN - 0014-4983
VL - 50
SP - 148
EP - 159
JO - Explorations in Economic History
JF - Explorations in Economic History
IS - 1
ER -