Do Black Mayors Improve Black Employment Outcomes? Evidence from Large U.S. Cities
52 Pages Posted: 13 Apr 2010 Last revised: 5 Nov 2013
There are 2 versions of this paper
Do Black Mayors Improve Black Employment Outcomes? Evidence from Large U.S. Cities
Do Black Mayors Improve Black Employment Outcomes? Evidence from Large U.S. Cities
Date Written: April 13, 2010
Abstract
To what extent do politicians reward voters who are members of their own ethnic or racial group? Using data from large cities in the United States, we study how black employment outcomes are affected by changes in the race of the cities’ mayors between 1971 and 2003. We find that black employment and labor force participation rise, and the black unemployment rate falls, during the tenure of black mayors both in absolute terms and relative to whites. Black employment gains in municipal government jobs are particularly large, which suggests that our results capture the causal effects of black mayors. We also find that the effect of black mayors on black employment outcomes is stronger in cities that have a large black community. This suggests that electoral incentives may be an important determinant of racial favoritism. Finally, we also find that, corresponding to increases in employment, black income is higher after black mayors take office. Again, this effect is pronounced in cities with a large black population.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
When Mayors Matter: Estimating the Impact of Mayoral Partisanship on City Policy
-
The Persuasive Effects of Direct Mail: a Regression Discontinuity Approach
By Alan Gerber, Daniel P. Kessler, ...
-
Modern Machines: Patronage, Information, and Incumbency in Local Elections
-
Why is There No Partisan Competition in City Council Elections? The Role of Election Law
-
Do Black Mayors Improve Black Employment Outcomes? Evidence from Large U.S. Cities
By John V. Nye, Ilia Rainer, ...
-
After It’s Too Late: Estimating the Policy Impacts of Black Mayors in U.S. Cities
-
Television Advertising in Mayoral Campaigns
By Timothy Krebs and David Holian
-
Ideology and Fiscal Policy: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the German States
-
Team Spirit: The Search for Party in Local Politics
By Craig M. Burnett and Vladimir Kogan