Working Paper

Black Mayors and Black Communities

Abstract: Do Black communities economically benefit from the election of a Black mayor? I find majority-Black ZIP codes experience gains in all areas of economic activity relative to non-Black communities following the first election of a Black mayor. Across industries, the number of establishments in majority-Black ZIP codes increases, including those that rely on foot traffic. Before breakthrough elections, Black residents are less likely than white residents to identify as self-employed across all cities, but this difference is reduced after an election; however, the cities in which the pre-breakthrough self-employment difference is larger experience no changes to the B–W self-employment gap post-election, suggesting institutional and historical factors may limit Black economic progress in places of higher disparity.

Keywords: Local government; mayors; community development;

JEL Classification: J1; H7; J7; R5;

https://doi.org/10.26509/frbc-wp-202507

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Part of Series: Working Papers

Publication Date: 2025-02-26

Number: 25-07