Long-run Impacts of Agricultural Shocks on Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Boll Weevil (Data)

This is the replication package for "Long-run Impacts of Agricultural Shocks on Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Boll Weevil." Abstract: The boll weevil spread across the South from 1892 to 1922 with devastating effect on cotton cultivation. The resulting shift away from this child labor--intensive crop lowered the opportunity cost of school attendance. We investigate the insect's long-run effect on educational attainment using a sample of adults from the 1940 census linked back to their childhood census records. Both white and black children who were young (ages 4 to 9) when the weevil arrived saw increased educational attainment by 0.24 to 0.36 years. Our results demonstrate the potential for conflict between child labor in agriculture and educational attainment.