The White/Black Educational Gap, Stalled Progress, and the Long-Term Consequences of the Emergence of Crack Cocaine Markets

Bibliographic Data

ID19316636
AuthorsWilliam N Evans (0000-0001-5446-268X, University of Notre Dame and NBER), Craig Garthwaite (0009-0009-3360-1594, Northwestern University and NBER), Timothy Moore (0000-0002-3195-8495, The University of Melbourne), Timothy J Moore (University of Melbourne and NBER)
Year2016
Volume98
Issue5
Pages832-847
Publication date2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Review of Economics and Statistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-6535 • E-ISSN: 1530-9142
PublisherMIT Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1162/rest_a_00635
OpenAlexW2139658476
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited43

We propose the rise of crack cocaine markets as a key explanation for the end to the convergence in black-white educational outcomes in the United States that began in the mid-1980s. After constructing a measure to date the arrival of crack markets in cities and states, we show that the decline in educational outcomes for black males begins with the start of the crack epidemic. We also show that there are higher murder and incarceration rates after the arrival of crack cocaine and that these are predictive of lower black high school completion rates, a result consistent with human capital theory. We estimate that effects related to crack markets can account for approximately 40% to 70% of the fall in black male high school completion rates

Black male · Convergence (economics) · Crack cocaine · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Labour economics · Physics · Sociology · Term (time) · White (mutation) · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Demography · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology

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