Post-Civil War Property Ownership and Intergenerational Mobility in America
![]()
Personalized briefing
Top 5 discoveries · Economics
The geography of opportunity after the Civil War: Black and white Americans’ intra- and intergenerational mobility into property ownership
Dear Julien Brault — this week’s five most relevant discoveries, curated for your work in Economics.
Key findings
Economics · Economic History
No. 1
This study examines the intra- and intergenerational mobility of Black and white Americans into property ownership after the Civil War, revealing persistent racial disparities in the geography of opportunity across the postbellum period. The analysis likely shows that institutional frameworks—land policies, credit access, and local governance—shaped divergent mobility trajectories for Black and white families. For a scholar of economic history and industrial planning, this provides a comparative perspective on how state and market institutions influence long-run asset accumulation and economic inclusion.
Novelty
75%
Rigor
80%
Significance
70%
Validity
85%
Clarity
78%
Economics · International Economics
No. 2
Do China’s State-Owned Enterprises Promote Their Suppliers’ Participation in Global Value Chains?
Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) serve as institutional anchors that significantly boost their suppliers’ participation in global value chains, as shown by panel data from 2008-2016. The effect operates through improvements in operational efficiency, supply chain coordination, and foreign direct investment attraction, though resource misallocation dampens the impact. This finding is directly relevant to your policy evaluation expertise at the EIB, where understanding the role of state-linked institutions in shaping industrial supply chains informs investment and institutional finance decisions.
Novelty
82%
Rigor
88%
Significance
85%
Validity
84%
Clarity
90%
Economics · Public Economics
No. 3
The effect of the Kansas tax reform on self-employment hours worked
The 2012 Kansas exemption of pass-through business income from state income tax unexpectedly reduced labor supply among unincorporated self-employed workers, contrary to its stated goal of promoting entrepreneurship. Using difference-in-differences and Heckman selection correction, the study finds a short-run reduction of 19 to 89 annual hours, concentrated among the directly exposed group, with no lasting effect. This causal evidence on tax policy outcomes is highly relevant to your work in policy evaluation and institutional finance, as it underscores the importance of rigorous analysis when assessing incentive-based economic reforms.
Novelty
80%
Rigor
90%
Significance
78%
Validity
88%
Clarity
85%
Economics · Development Economics
No. 4
Never too young to dream big: Youth aspirations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa
This study uses novel survey data from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria during COVID-19 to demonstrate that youth aspirations are systematically shaped by gender, age, and household wealth. Female youth show lower aspirations for university education and STEM careers, while older youth and those from higher-income families have divergent migration and educational ambitions. These findings are pertinent to your applied economics background at the EIF and EIB, where understanding human capital formation and labor market expectations is critical for investment analysis in developing economies.
Novelty
76%
Rigor
78%
Significance
72%
Validity
80%
Clarity
82%
Economics · Microeconomics
No. 5
The effects of remote work on the disability employment gap
The post-pandemic expansion of remote work accounts for the majority of the improvement in full-time employment among individuals with physical disabilities. This research from the AEA highlights how changes in workplace organization can substantially reduce structural labor market disparities. For a professional focused on policy evaluation and institutional finance, this evidence demonstrates how technology-induced shifts in work arrangements can serve as a cost-effective tool for improving labor market inclusion, relevant to investment in social infrastructure.
Novelty
85%
Rigor
82%
Significance
80%
Validity
78%
Clarity
88%
Advertisement
ScientificChina — verified Chinese lab & medical equipment suppliers, direct. Browse suppliers →
Your briefing is personalized based on your selected fields, keywords, and research interests.

