#4582. Segregation, Integration, and Death: Evidence from the Korean War

August 2026publication date
Proposal available till 19-05-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript0 $

The title of the journal is available only for the authors who have already paid for
Journal’s subject area:
Business, Management and Accounting (all);
Strategy and Management;
Management of Technology and Innovation;
Places in the authors’ list:
place 1place 2place 3place 4
FreeFreeFreeFree
2350 $1200 $1050 $900 $
Contract №4582.1 Contract №4582.2 Contract №4582.3 Contract №4582.4
1 place - free (for sale)
2 place - free (for sale)
3 place - free (for sale)
4 place - free (for sale)

Abstract:
How does the design of military institutions affect who bears the costs of war? We answer this question by studying the transformative shift from segregated to integrated US military units. Combining new micro-level data on combat fatalities with archival data on the deployment and racial composition of military battalions, we show that black and white soldiers died at similar rates under segregation. Qualitative and quantitative evidence provides one potential explanation for this counterintuitive null finding: acute battlefield concerns necessitated deploying military units wherever soldiers were needed, regardless of their race. Finally, while aggregate fatality rates were equal across races, segregation enabled short-term casualty discrepancies. This research note highlights how enshrining segregationist policies within militaries creates permissive conditions for either commanders choices, or the dictates and variability of conflict, to shape who bears wars costs.
Keywords:
costs of war; International conflict; international security; race and ethnic politics

Contacts :
0