THE FAMILY ECONOMY, CHILD LABOR, AND SCHOOLING - EVIDENCE FROM THE EARLY 20TH-CENTURY SOUTH

We explore the determinants of employment and school enrollment among black children and white children in North Carolina and South Carolina in 1910. Our analysis situates decisions about children's employment and schooling in the context of the family, the local labor market, an d the local educational system. Family resources were an important det erminant of children's employment, especially for white children, but labor-market opportunities were the main predictors of the type of emp loyment, given that children worked. Net of children's employment stat us, family resources also affected the likelihood of children's school enrollment. Working in a nonagricultural industry interfered with sch ooling, whereas working in agriculture did not affect the likelihood o f school enrollment. Finally, school enrollment of black children was depressed by a lack of educational opportunities. Racial differences i n educational opportunities were a more important determinant of racia l inequalities in school enrollment than were racial inequalities in f amily resources or work opportunities.