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The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Price, GN; Darity, WA
Published in: Economics and human biology
July 2010

Theoretical justifications for state-sanctioned sterilization of individuals provided by Irving Fisher rationalized its racialization on grounds that certain non-white racial groups, particularly blacks due to their dysgenic biological and behavioral traits, retarded economic growth and should be bred out of existence. Fisher's rationale suggests that national or state level eugenic policies that sterilized the so-called biological and genetically unfit could have been racist in both design and effect by disproportionately targeting black Americans. We empirically explore this with data on eugenic sterilizations in the State of North Carolina between 1958 and 1968. Count data parameter estimates from a cross-county population allocation model of sterilization reveal that the probability of non-institutional and total sterilizations increased with a county's black population share-an effect not found for any other racial group in the population. Our results suggest that in North Carolina, eugenic sterilization policies were racially biased and genocidal.

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Published In

Economics and human biology

DOI

EISSN

1873-6130

ISSN

1570-677X

Publication Date

July 2010

Volume

8

Issue

2

Start / End Page

261 / 272

Related Subject Headings

  • Sterilization, Involuntary
  • Prejudice
  • North Carolina
  • Humans
  • History, 20th Century
  • General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Eugenics
  • Black or African American
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1402 Applied Economics
 

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Price, G. N., & Darity, W. A. (2010). The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968. Economics and Human Biology, 8(2), 261–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2010.01.002
Price, Gregory N., and William A. Darity. “The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968.Economics and Human Biology 8, no. 2 (July 2010): 261–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2010.01.002.
Price GN, Darity WA. The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968. Economics and human biology. 2010 Jul;8(2):261–72.
Price, Gregory N., and William A. Darity. “The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968.Economics and Human Biology, vol. 8, no. 2, July 2010, pp. 261–72. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2010.01.002.
Price GN, Darity WA. The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968. Economics and human biology. 2010 Jul;8(2):261–272.
Journal cover image

Published In

Economics and human biology

DOI

EISSN

1873-6130

ISSN

1570-677X

Publication Date

July 2010

Volume

8

Issue

2

Start / End Page

261 / 272

Related Subject Headings

  • Sterilization, Involuntary
  • Prejudice
  • North Carolina
  • Humans
  • History, 20th Century
  • General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Eugenics
  • Black or African American
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1402 Applied Economics