Segregation and the Initial Provision of Water in the United States

We develop a theoretical model to illustrate how segregation affects investment in waterworks infrastructure. Data from over 1700 cities and towns match the key empirical predictions of our model: waterworks were built earlier in larger and more segregated cities as well as cities with smaller black shares. In the context of our model, these results are consistent with blacks in segregated cities being excluded from water provision. Analysis of health outcomes further supports this interpretation. Segregated cities experienced smaller health improvements following the construction of a waterworks and were much slower to eliminate waterborne diseases. This suggests that, by facilitating the exclusion of black households, segregation also served to undermine the city’s ability to eliminate waterborne diseases for all residents. Too Small to Not Fail: African-American Banks in Virginia, 1916-28 Geoffrey Clarke, Rutgers University – New Brunswick April 21, 2019