As an economic historian, Robert Margo has long wanted to study the 1960s. But, he says, "for the longest time people would say, 'That's too close to the present.' "
Not so anymore. The 1960s are as distant from today as the Great Depression was from the 1960s, and economic historians, including Margo of Vanderbilt University, are examining the decade's long-term effects.
Consider the wave of race riots that swept the nation's cities. From 1964 to 1971, there were more than 750 riots, killing 228 people and injuring 12,741 others. After more than 15,000 separate incidents of arson, many black urban neighborhoods were in ruins.
As soon as the riots occurred, social scientists began collecting data and analyzing the possible causes.
Until recently, however, few scholars looked at the riots' long-term economic consequences. [...]
| Continue Virginia Postrel's New York Times column "The Consequences of the 1960's Race Riots Come Into View," which discusses "The Labor Market Effects of the 1960's Riots" and "The Economic Aftermath of the 1960s Riots: Evidence from Property Values," and then see Postrel's Dynamist post.
posted in articles on January 2, 2005 1:30 PM | t (0)
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