Competition and the compensation of sharecroppers by race: A view from plantations in the early twentieth century

Using evidence from an unpublished census of plantations in 1911, we find that across plantations in Georgia, black and white sharecroppers received equal pay. Coupled with evidence on the mobility of agricultural workers and wage equality of farm laborers, our finding supports the view of competitiveness in the southern agricultural labor market in the early 20th century, (C) 2001 Academic Press.