Journal of Economic Literature
ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)
A Review Essay on Howard Bodenhorn's The Color Factor: The Economics of African-American Well-Being in the Nineteenth-Century South
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 56,
no. 1, March 2018
(pp. 206–16)
Abstract
In The Color Factor: The Economics of African-American Well-Being in the Nineteenth-Century South, Howard Bodenhorn investigates the origins, health, and socioeconomic performance of mixed-race people in the antebellum Southern United States. The central conclusion of the book is that mixed-race people fared better than darker-skinned blacks on nearly every dimension; however, they were still disadvantaged relative to whites. This review essay discusses the book's valuable data contributions and relates Bodenhorn's conclusions to the broader literature on colorism. I close with implications for future research on the economics of skin color.Citation
Shertzer, Allison. 2018. "A Review Essay on Howard Bodenhorn's The Color Factor: The Economics of African-American Well-Being in the Nineteenth-Century South." Journal of Economic Literature, 56 (1): 206–16. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20161375Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I31 General Welfare; Well-Being
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J71 Labor Discrimination
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913