The Representational Consequences of Municipal Civil Service Reform

• In Event: Causes and Consequences of Civil Service Reform

Abstract

The introduction of merit-based recruitment of municipal employees in American cities boosted overall quality service delivery. In this paper, we argue that these same civil service reforms had important and overlooked representational consequences, as well. Using new data on all municipal government employees from 1850-1940 matched to the timing of civil service reforms, we show that the share of local government jobs held by foreign-born whites increased, while black representation in local public service decreased. In particular, first- and second-generation Irish Americans benefited substantially from the reforms. Importantly, these effects were predominantly concentrated in blue collar jobs. We document how this supposedly race-blind policy decreased descriptive representation and discuss its consequences for inter group relations in rapidly urbanizing contexts.

Authors

• Nicholas Kuipers, UC Berkeley

• Alexander Laurence Sahn, Princeton University