Suchergebnisse

This study investigates the market concentration/racial earnings discrimination relationship in two periods: 1984–90 and 1991–96. In each period, the racial wage gap and the residual wage gap are compared for union and nonunion workers in monopolistic and competitive industries. The authors find no evidence of market structure–driven discrimination for union workers in either period. However, from the first to the second period they find evidence of increased racial earnings differentials for nonunion workers, yet market structure–driven discrimination decreases. The authors suggest that concentration has become a less effective measure of market power and firms' latitude to discriminate. (JEL J31, J71)

Objective. Economic theory suggests that competition reduces employers' latitude to engage in wage discrimination (Becker, 1957). This study investigates the impact of foreign and domestic competition on wage discrimination.Method. Utilizing the sample of males in U.S. manufacturing industries from the 1990 Public Use Micro Sample (PUMS), industry wage equations are estimated. In a second stage, the impact of domestic and foreign competition on racial wage disparity is assessed.Results. We find little evidence to support our hypothesis.Conclusions. Notwithstanding, the failure of conventional economic theory to satisfactorily explain racial wage disparity reiterates the need to incorporate alternative theories of discrimination into mainstream economic theory.

Objective: Economic theory suggests that competition reduces employers' latitude to engage in wage discrimination ( Becker, 1957). This study investigates the impact of foreign and domestic competition on wage discrimination. Method: Utilizing the sample of males in U.S. manufacturing industries from the 1990 Public Use Micro Sample (PUMS), industry wage equations are estimated. In a second stage, the impact of domestic and foreign competition on racial wage disparity is assessed. Results: We find little evidence to support our hypothesis. Conclusions: Notwithstanding, the failure of conventional economic theory to satisfactorily explain racial wage disparity reiterates the need to incorporate alternative theories of discrimination into mainstream economic theory. (Original abstract)

Abstract. This article tests the hypothesis that increased product market competition of deregulation decreased employer and union wage discrimination in the motor carrier industry. Specifically, in each regulatory period, we estimate the portion of the industry racial wage differential that is due to racial differences: in driver attributes, returns to attributes, and unionization. Our findings suggest that enhanced product market competition directly reduces wage discrimination and may have a smaller indirect effect of further reducing racial wage disparities in industries with racially exclusive unions. These findings support the use of competition to reduce wage discrimination as opposed to government intervention.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend recent literature regarding the effects of competition on racial earnings by examining the effects of global competition on racial wages of union and non‐union workers of different skill levels. Additionally, it is intended that inference be drawn regarding whether global competition is a viable means to eliminate racial wage discrimination.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilizes quantile regression to examine the effect of global competition on the racial wage gap of workers in high‐ and low‐concentration industries at different points along the earnings distribution. Additionally, the analysis utilizes the highest level of import penetration in each industry over the sample period to examine whether global competition is a viable means to eliminate racial wage discrimination.FindingsIn concentrated industries, non‐union whites at most skill levels receive a substantial wage premium compared with their black counterparts. Further, imports reduce racial earnings inequality by significantly decreasing the wages of low‐ and medium‐skill non‐union whites. However, imports cannot mitigate racial earnings discrimination for non‐union workers at most skill levels.Practical implicationsThese findings suggest that, if market forces cannot alleviate racial wage discrimination, government anti‐discriminatory policies may be a necessary measure.Originality/valueNo previous study has examined the effect of global competition on the racial wage gap of workers of different skill levels. Further, no study has empirically tested whether international competition is a viable means to eliminate racial wage discrimination.

Apartheid in South Africa ensured whites received more and better-quality schooling relative to Africans, coloreds, and Asians. It is hence conceivable, consistent with human-capital theory whites would receive relatively higher prices to their measured human-capital skills and would have higher dispersion of their unmeasured human-capital skills. We test this hypothesis. Specifically, we employ a semiparametric procedure to decompose 1995-2006 racial wage differences into regression coefficients, covariates and residuals and extend the literature by decomposing residuals into unmeasured skills and skill prices. Our findings support the theory: whites receive relatively higher prices to measured skills and have relatively higher dispersion of unmeasured skills, with the latter attributed to higher prices of unmeasured skills. We suggest better-quality schooling yielded higher returns to measured human-capital attributes for whites, and higher skills enabled whites to benefit more from on-the-job-training resulting in higher dispersion of their unmeasured human-capital attributes.