Full Citation
Title: The Value of Freedom: Fertility Decisions and the Escape from Slavery
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2010
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Abstract: This paper examines the extent to which enslaved mothers in the U.S. antebellum south reduced their fertilityin hopes of facilitating escape. Escaping from slavery with young children was extraordinarily di cult, sothe possibility of escape provided incentives for women to reduce their fertility. A simple model demonstratesthat in contrast to owners?preferences, mothers will prefer to have fewer children the greater the distanceto freedom. Exploiting the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 (which increased the distance to freedom) and theparticularity of U.S. geography, a strong negative relationship between fertility and distance to freedom isdemonstrated. This negative correlation is stronger on larger plantations, but disappears if the father of thechild is white. The result is robust to controlling for the di culty of the route and a similar correlation isnot present for white children or for slave children born prior to the Fugitive Slave Law. Estimates suggestthat fertility fell on average by 8:7% for each additional 100 miles to freedom. Since the probability of escapewas remote, this large reduction in fertility suggests the value of freedom was substantial; in particular, Iestimate that the value of freedom is at least 27 times greater than the average value of a child.
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Authors: Allen, Treb
Institution: Yale University
Department: Economics
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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Publisher Location: New Haven, CT
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Data Collections: IPUMS International
Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Other
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