logoRITM_longFor this week’s RITM seminar, we are hosting Véronique GILLE (DIAL/IRD). She will be presenting “Does the identity of leaders matter for education? Evidence from the first black governor in the US“.
The RITM seminar will be on Thursday, March 24, in Gaudemet room, from 2 to 3.30 pm.
Abstract:
This paper analyzes whether political leaders from disadvantaged minorities improve educational outcomes of teenagers and young adults from the same minority. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the first African American governor ever elected in the United States, Douglas Wilder, who became governor of the State of Virginia in 1990. Using individual level survey data, we study how the educational achievements of black teenagers from Virginia evolved after the election of Douglas Wilder and we study the channels for the potential effect. The empirical specification follows a double and triple-difference strategy, using whites and other states as controls. The results show that, following the election, there was a significant and sizeable increase in the probability of black teenagers with respect to whites in Virginia of getting a high school diploma. Our findings suggest that policy changes alone cannot explain these improvements and we find evidence that the aspirations of black students improved. This indicates that Douglas Wilder may have been a role model for black teenagers in Virginia.
The program of the RITM Seminar is here.