Closing Time: The Local Equilibrium Effects of Prohibition
- How do different local policies in a federal system affect local land values, production, and sorting? We study the question exploiting a large historical policy change: U.S. Alcohol Prohibition in the early twentieth century. Comparing same- state early and late adopters of county dry laws in a difference-in-differences design, we find that early Prohibition adoption increased population and farm real estate values. Moreover, we find strong effects on farm productivity consistent with increased investment due to a land price channel. In equilibrium, the policy change disproportionately attracted immigrants and African-Americans.
Document Type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
Author(s): | Greg Howard, Arianna Ornaghi |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of Economic History |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Publishing Institution: | Hertie School |
First Page: | 792 |
Last Page: | 830 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050721000346 |
Release Date: | 2021/09/10 |
Volume: | 81 |
Issue: | 3 |
Notes: | "This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of Economic History. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050721000346 |
AY 21/22: | AY 21/22 |
Licence of document (English): |