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Full Citation

Title: The Value of Freedom: Fertility Decisions and the Escape from Slavery

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2010

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.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Allen, Treb

Institution: Yale University

Department: Economics

Advisor:

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: New Haven, CT

Pages:

Data Collections: IPUMS International

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Other

Countries:

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