Revisiting the profitability of slavery: slave hiring rates and the return on investments in slaves in the antebellum U.S. South

Rönnbäck, Klas,1974Gothenburg University,Göteborgs universitet,Institutionen för ekonomi och samhälle,Institutionen för ekonomi och samhälle, Ekonomisk historia,Department of Economy and Society,Department of Economy and Society, Economic History (author)

This paper revisits the scholarly debate on the profitability of historical slavery. The paper studies the case of the antebellum U.S. South, using slave hire rates as a proxy for the net rent on investments in slavery. The paper employs more empirical data and a more advanced methodological approach to the issue than what has been used in previous research. The results suggest that the profitability of slavery was much higher than what most previous research has shown, around 14-15 per cent per year on average after adjusting for mortality risk, but that the return also fluctuated much over time. It was on average more profitable for Southern capital owners to invest in slaves than investing in many alternatives such as financial instruments or manufacturing activities in the U.S. South, as long as slavery remained a legal institution.

Göteborgs universitetInstitutionen för ekonomi och samhälle (creator_code:org_t)

About the subject

SOCIAL SCIENCES: SOCIAL SCIENCES; and Economics and Bu ...; and Economic History

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