Roads of redemption: Analysing the efficiency of convict labour in the development of Florida's highway system during 1923–1936

Abstract

This study compares the efficiency of convict labour, state-employed paid labour, and private contractors in Florida's early twentieth-century road construction. Using newly digitised monthly project status reports published between 1923 and 1936, we analyze completion times for 572 projects to evaluate labour productivity across contractor types. The results show that state-employed crews completed projects substantially faster than private contractors or convict labour, even after accounting for project type and county. Convict labour, although cheaper and more readily available, was associated with significantly longer completion times. These findings contribute to broader historical understandings of infrastructure development, coerced labour, and state capacity. It also demonstrates that the apparent cost savings of prison labour came at the expense of timely project delivery and reflected the penal dynamics shaping Florida's road-building policies in the early twentieth century.