AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Improved Market Access and Indigenous Land Loss: Evidence from the Nineteenth-Century US Railroad Expansion
AEA Papers and Proceedings
(pp. 652–657)
Abstract
We study the effects of colonial market access on the loss of lands for Indigenous nations, using the rapid expansion of the US railroad network in the nineteenth century as a quasi-natural experiment. We find that increased market access to Indigenous homelands led to a hastening of land dispossession. We find that both reductions in transport costs that improved connectivity to large population centers and the westward advancement of mass settlement were important channels. Taken together, our paper provides evidence that, unlike for settlers' outcomes, railroad-induced market access improvements may not have been beneficial for Indigenous peoples.Citation
Chan, Jeff, Azim Essaji, and Rob Gillezeau. 2026. "Improved Market Access and Indigenous Land Loss: Evidence from the Nineteenth-Century US Railroad Expansion." AEA Papers and Proceedings 116: 652–657. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261127Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- L92 Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N41 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N71 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N91 Regional and Urban History: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- Q24 Renewable Resources and Conservation: Land