Melinda C. Miller

Assistant Professor of Economics · Virginia Tech

Melinda C. Miller

Department of Economics David H. Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics millermc at vt.edu Google Scholar SSRN
Melinda C. Miller
§ 01

About

I examine how institutions, property rights, and race have shaped economic outcomes across American history. I use the tools of quantitative economic history alongside archival research to recover the experiences of communities that conventional records often overlook.

§ 02

Research

i.

Land & Racial Wealth Inequality

The role of land ownership in Black mobility and wealth after emancipation, and how the failure to redistribute land shaped inequality in the postbellum South.

Racial wealth gapEmancipationLand

To Have Land and Turn and Till It: Land and Black Intergenerational Mobility, 1880–1900. Recommended for publication with minor revisions, Review of Black Political Economy.

"The Righteous and Reasonable Ambition to Become a Landholder:" Land and Racial Inequality in the Postbellum South. Review of Economics and Statistics, 102(2), May 2020.

"Destroyed by Slavery?" Slavery and African American Family Formation Following Emancipation. Demography, 55(5), October 2018.

Land and Racial Wealth Inequality. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 101(3), 371–376.

The Southern Homestead Act and the Racial Gap in Property Ownership. In progress.

ii.

Federal Indian Policy

How federal policy toward Native nations shaped economic life — from assimilation and allotment to relocation — drawing on the history of the Cherokee Nation and other communities.

Federal Indian policyCherokee NationAssimilation

Assimilation and Economic Development: The Case of Federal Indian Policy. Public Choice, 199(3), 387–404, June 2024.

Race and Agriculture During the Assimilation Era: Evidence from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Demographic Research, 46(37), 1109–1136, June 2022. With Matt Gregg.

"No Right of Citizenship": The 1863 Emancipation Acts of the Loyal Cherokee Council. Preparing revision, Journal of American History. With Rachel Purvis.

Inequality in Rural Settings: Evidence from New Microdata on Eastern Cherokees, 1894–1906. Revision submitted, Journal of Economic History. With Matt Gregg.

The Long-Run Distributional Effects from Land Titling: Evidence from American Indian Allotment. In progress. With Matthew T. Gregg.

The Impact of Place-Based Policies on a Vulnerable Population: Evidence from American Indian Urban Relocation. In progress. With Matthew T. Gregg.

iv.

Institutions & Inequality

How institutions — communal ownership, citizenship, and marriage law — shaped living standards and the distribution of economic wellbeing.

InstitutionsStandard of livingLaw

Communal Institutions and the Biological Standard of Living: Evidence from the Amana Colonies. Under review, Social Science History.

Solely by Reason of Her Marriage: The Effect of the 1907 Expatriation Act on Marriage Decisions. In progress.

§ 03

Published Papers

Assimilation and Economic Development: The Case of Federal Indian Policy. Public Choice, 199(3), 387–404, June 2024.

Race and Agriculture During the Assimilation Era: Evidence from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Demographic Research, 46(37), 1109–1136, June 2022. With Matt Gregg.

"The Righteous and Reasonable Ambition to Become a Landholder:" Land and Racial Inequality in the Postbellum South. Review of Economics and Statistics, 102(2), May 2020.

"Destroyed by Slavery?" Slavery and African American Family Formation Following Emancipation. Demography, 55(5), October 2018.

Selection and Historical Height Data: Evidence from the 1892 Boas Sample of the Cherokee Nation. Explorations in Economic History, 61, July 2016.

Dawes Cards and Indian Census Data. Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 48(4), 2015.

Land and Racial Wealth Inequality. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 101(3), 371–376.

§ 04

Reviews & Public Writing

Book Reviews

Review of Between Slavery and Capitalism: The Legacy of Emancipation in the American South by Martin Ruef (Princeton, 2014). Journal of Southern History, 82(2).

Review of Trail Sisters: Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850–1890 by Linda Williams Reese (Texas Tech, 2013). History: Reviews of New Books, 43(1).

Review of Face Value: The Entwined Histories of Money and Race in America by Michael O'Malley. Journal of Economic History, 73, 885–887.

Review of Cotton and Race in the Making of America: The Human Costs of Economic Power by Gene Dattel. EH.net.

Popular Press

Cherokee Nation policies after the Civil War show that reparations work. Made by History, Washington Post.

The Cherokees Free Their Slaves. Disunion, New York Times. With Rachel Purvis.

Doctor, Teacher, Soldier, Spy. Disunion, New York Times. With Rachel Purvis.

Selected Media Coverage

A Plot of Land, a Path to Freedom. Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Primary Sources. The Atlantic.

Would it have helped to give free slaves land? Marginal Revolution.

§ 05

Teaching

US Economic History

Introduction to Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Advanced Topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Economic History of Diversity and Inclusion

Analysis of Economic Data

§ 06

Curriculum Vitae

Download the full curriculum vitae, including complete publications, grants, talks, and service.

Download CV (PDF) ↓
Appointment
CurrentVirginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Economics
Core Faculty, David H. Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Education
2008Ph.D., Economics
University of Michigan
2005M.A., Economics
University of Michigan
2000B.A., Economics
Case Western Reserve University
§ 07

Get in touch

Email
millermc at vt.edu
Virginia Tech
· Department of Economics
· David H. Kellogg Center for
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics