Data and Code for The Enduring Effects of Racial Discrimination on Income and Health: Evidence from American Civil War Veterans

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Shari Eli, University of Toronto; Trevon Logan, Ohio State University; Boriana Miloucheva, University of Toronto

Version: View help for Version V1

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analysis			08/05/2022 08:04:PM
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Project Citation:

Eli, Shari, Logan, Trevon , and Miloucheva, Boriana. Data and Code for The Enduring Effects of Racial Discrimination on Income and Health: Evidence from American Civil War Veterans. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2023. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-08-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/E172041V1

Project Description

Summary: We investigate the effect of income on the longstanding racial mortality gap in the U.S. by using evidence from white and black Civil War veterans, who went on to receive post-war pensions. To circumvent endogeneity, we propose an exogenous source of variation in pension income: the judgment of the doctors who certified disability. We find large effects of pension income on longevity, large enough to close the black-white mortality gap in principle. However, because physicians discriminated against blacks when evaluating the existence and severity of disabilities, blacks received reduced pension benefits that failed to eliminate racial mortality gaps in practice. Our findings shed light on the role of beliefs about race, as opposed to racial animus, in contributing to racial differentials in well-being.

Funding Sources: United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging (P01 AG10120)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Union Army Data; United States Colored Troops

JEL Classification:
N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

Geographic Coverage: United States

Time Period(s): 1/1/1862 – 1/1/1928

Methodology

Data Source: The UA and USCT data are publicly available and housed by the NBER. See uadata.org. Citation: UA sample (NIA P01 AG10120, PI: Fogel), and Expanded United States Colored Troops (USCT) sample(NIA P01 AG10120, PI: Costa).

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V1 [2023-08-23]

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