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De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi
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De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi

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  • Graziella Bertocchi
  • Arcangelo Dimico

Abstract

We evaluate the empirical relevance of de facto vs. de jure determinants of political power in the U.S. South between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. We apply a variety of estimation techniques to a previously unexploited dataset on voter registration by race covering the counties of Mississippi in 1896, shortly after the introduction of the 1890 voting restrictions encoded in the state constitution. Our results indicate that de jure voting restrictions reduce black registration but that black disfranchisement starts well before 1890 and is more intense where a black majority represents a threat to the de facto power of white elites. Moreover, the effect of race becomes stronger after 1890 suggesting that the de jure barriers may have served the purpose of institutionalizing a de facto condition of disfranchisement;

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  • Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico, 2012. "De Jure and de Facto Determinants of Power: Evidence from Mississippi," Department of Economics (DEMB) 0001, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Department of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    • Handle: RePEc:mod:dembwp:0001
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    Cited by:

    1. Graziella Bertocchi, 2015. "Slavery, racial inequality, and education," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 122-122, February.
    2. Graziella Bertocchi, 2016. "The legacies of slavery in and out of Africa," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2020. "Bitter Sugar: Slavery and the Black Family," GLO Discussion Paper Series 564, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2014. "Slavery, education, and inequality," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 197-209.
    5. Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico & Gian Luca Tedeschi, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," CHILD Working Papers Series 100 JEL Classification: J, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    6. Graziella Bertocchi, 2016. "The Legacies of Slavery in and out of Africa," Department of Economics 0096, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    7. Mario Chacon & Jeffrey Jensen, 2018. "De Facto Power, Democracy, and Taxation: Evidence from Military Occupation during Reconstruction," Working Papers 20180016, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Jan 2018.
    8. Jensen, Jeffrey L. & Yntiso, Sidak, 2019. "Democratic reversals and the size of government," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 21-49.
    9. Graziella Bertocchi & Angelo Dimico & Gian Luca Tedeschi, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," Department of Economics 0200, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    10. Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico, 2020. "Bitter Sugar: Slavery and the Black Family," Department of Economics 0172, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Race; voting; institutions; education; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N41 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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