Families who won the lottery reverted to the mean in a generation or two
A small event known in the US as the Civil War, which completely decimated the economy of Georgia, just might have had something to do with this.
Touche. My point was that participation was extensive and varied. It remains to be seen whether or not this effect holds for women or minorities, but even if it didn't, that would only support my main point: context matters.
> A small event known in the US as the Civil War... just might have had something to do with this.
The authors address the Civil War in the piece. It would indeed have been a weird oversight for economic historians studying the pre-war South if they hadn't, if that just never occurred to them as relevant.
"...which had nearly universal participation among adult white males."
White males is a lot less than almost everyone. Its not even most people.