Essays in Coerced Labor

Author(s): Finn, Ian | Advisor(s): Skaperdas, Stergios | Abstract: My dissertation examines various facets of coerced labor. Chapter 1 develops a theoretical model of coerced labor and draws predictions regarding the intensity of serfdom in feudal Europe. These predictions are then utilized to explain why Western Europe abrogated serfdom centuries before Eastern Europe. Chapter 2 studies the factors affecting the prevalence of slave unrest in the antebellum Southern United States. I find that areas which were endowed with geographic and climatic conditions best suited for cotton production were more likely to experience revolts and discovered conspiracies. I also find that years in which cotton prices were higher led to more revolts. Chapter 3 investigates a hypothesis which attributes the backwardness of industry in the antebellum South to an inherent incompatibility between urbanization and slavery. In direct contradiction to this hypothesis, I find that county-level urbanization is uncorrelated with the incidence of revolts, discovered conspiracies or panics.