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on Minorities Research (Ethnic, LGBTQ+, Disabilities) |
| By: | Madison Arnsbarger; Andreas Ferrara; Paige Montrose |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of economic participation via the labor market in enabling the political mobilization of an underrepresented group. Specifically, we study the wives and daughters of disabled Union Army soldiers after the U.S. Civil War. Linking Union Army enlistment records to the 1860 and 1870 U.S. censuses, we find that the wives and daughters of disabled veterans were significantly more likely to participate in the labor force than those of non-disabled veterans. Historical evidence suggests that disabled veterans were also more exposed to postwar alcohol and substance abuse, increasing the household burdens faced by women. Town-level data show that increases in women's labor force participation combined with higher shares of disabled veterans predict more Temperance Crusade activity in 1873-74. Information provision via newspapers and proximity to other protest towns amplify these effects. Using unit-level disability rates as an instrument for veterans' disability status supports a causal interpretation of the labor market effects. Our results suggest that labor force participation can be an important enabling factor for the political mobilization of underrepresented groups. |
| Keywords: | U.S. Civil War, Female Labor Force Participation, Temperance, Political Activism |
| JEL: | N31 J15 J18 D72 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26157 |
| By: | Dziadula, Eva; Harris, Jorgen |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the complex, interconnected social systems that drive global racial, ethnic, and minoritybased inequality. While these categories are often perceived through biological or purely numerical lenses, we demonstrate that they are fundamentally fluid social constructs born out of group conflict, individual incentives, and boundary maintenance. First, we review constructivist frameworks and economic theory- such as the economics of identity and coordination models-to show how individual self-identification and shifting group boundaries respond directly to shifting policy and socioeconomic incentives. Next, we evaluate a broad body of international empirical evidence across three critical domains where these institutionalized power disparities directly impact individuals: housing segregation and discrimination, persistent disparities in educational attainment, and exposure to racially motivated hate crimes and interpersonal violence. Finally, this paper analyzes structural policy interventions designed to dismantle systemic disparities and promote equity across historically marginalized minority groups. We review the successes and ongoing challenges of affirmative action programs, exploring the debates surrounding student mismatch, preparation incentives, and social backlash. We also examine the long-term benefits of school desegregation programs, alongside the broader equity impacts of labor market institutions like the minimum wage and unionization. |
| Keywords: | race, ethnicity, minorities |
| JEL: | J15 J16 I24 O18 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1777 |
| By: | Lukas Althoff; Christiane Szerman |
| Abstract: | The World War II GI Bill was the largest education subsidy in US history and a cornerstone of the post-war US transition to a knowledge economy. Although formally race-blind, the program's decentralized administration left implementation to local officials and segregated institutions, with sharply different consequences for Black and white veterans. This paper quantifies the GI Bill's impact on Black and white Americans' economic outcomes across two generations, using a regression discontinuity around WWII service eligibility cut-offs and a new data linkage from veterans in the 1940 and 1950 censuses to their sons' neighborhood outcomes between 1990 and 2025. The GI Bill widened racial inequality, doubling white veterans' college completion while steering Black veterans into often-fraudulent vocational programs with no earnings returns. The disparities persisted across generations, increasing the white-Black gap in sons' adult-neighborhood outcomes, including a 5-percentage-point (47 percent) widening of the racial college gap. Unequal returns to the same eligibility account for the intergenerational gap, with no contribution from pre-war differences in socioeconomic status or geography. In sum, access to the GI Bill was not nearly the same economic opportunity for Black Americans as it was for white Americans, highlighting that race-blind policy does not guarantee racial equality. |
| Date: | 2026–06–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2194 |
| By: | Maya Mikdash; Mark Hoekstra; Suhyeon Oh |
| Abstract: | Racial disparities permeate the criminal justice system, yet indigent defense attorneys remain understudied despite representing 80% of defendants. Using quasi-randomly court-appointed attorneys in a large Texas county, we show that higher-quality attorneys are less experienced and attended lower-quality law schools. Low-quality representation disproportionately harms Black defendants: a one-standard-deviation increase in quality raises Black dismissal rates nearly twice that of Whites’ (7.1% versus 3.9%), and top-10% representation increases dismissals by 12–17% and reduces jail by 13-22% relative to Whites. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest if half of court-appointed attorneys were top-10% quality, the racial gap in jail sentencing would decline by 11%. |
| JEL: | H76 J15 K14 K42 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35234 |
| By: | Brendan Cirillo (Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado); Jeffrey Milyo (Department of Economics, University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court suspended federal preclearance restrictions on changes to voting laws in several states with a history of racial or ethnic discrimination and disparities in voting. We analyze the impact of removing federal preclearance of state election reforms on minority voter turnout by estimating the triple difference in minority versus non-minority turnout in affected and unaffected states before and after Shelby. We employ data from the 2008-2024 Cooperative Election Study, which includes both validated voter turnout and registration, as well as several measures of political mobilization. We find no evidence that the end of federal preclearance has had detrimental effects on minority voter turnout or registration. We also show that revised federal preclearance procedures in the proposed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are not better targeted at states where minority voting retrogressed after Shelby. Finally, we do not find support for the hypothesis that countermobilization among minority voters mitigates or confounds what would otherwise have been an increase in the minority voting gap post-Shelby. |
| Keywords: | Disparities, Election Administration, Election Law, Political Mobilization, Voter Turnout. |
| JEL: | D71 D72 H11 K16 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:2602 |