Abolition, the Extension of Slavery, and the Position of Free Blacks: A Study of Split Labor Markets in the United States, 1830-1863

Asian immigration and American race‐relations: From exclusion to acceptance?

“…Asians are neither black nor white, and conventional models of race relations are not always appropriate for examining the history and current status of Asian Americans as immigrant and racial minorities. In this article splitlabour-market theory (Bonacich 1972;Bonacich 1976;Boswell 1986), discussions of ethnic enclaves (Light 1972;Bonacich and Modell 1980;Wilson and Portes 1980), and cultural perspectives on race relations (Kuper 1974;Bagley and Verma 1979) are used to construct a dynamic model of Asian/white intergroup-relations. The model is then applied to selected data to evaluate its utility in particular respects.…”

“…This produces two labour pools for employers: high-cost labour and cheap labour. An important factor in the differentiation of labour is the regional or national differences in incomes and cost of living, usually explained in terms of uneven development of capitalism (Bonacich 1984). Thus, migrant workers (from rural or 'less developed' parts of the country) or immigrant workers (from poorer countries) are willing to accept lower wages compared to native (versus foreign) or majoritygroup (versus minority-group) workers.…”

“…Dominant labour will then attempt to protect its interests by restricting or excluding cheap labour. Conflict between blacks and whites in the USA and South Africa, for example, and subsequent racial discrimination against blacks have been explained using split-labour-market theory (Bonacich 1972;Bonacich 1975;Bonacich 1976;Marks 1981).…”

“…The ethnic enclave presents opportunities that would otherwise be absent. Another interpretation of how structural factors promote minority achievement is offered by Bonacich's (1973) discussion of middlemen minorities. A minority group may be excluded from desirable high-paid work but is allowed to specialize in work that is necessary but not competitive with majority workers, for example, operating hand laundries and greengroceries.…”

The Class Context of Temporary Immigration, Racism and Civic Nationalism in Taiwan

“…Labour unions sometimes embrace far-right ideas about citizen workers' massively declining rights and fortunes in the job market, and pressure the state to dismantle immigration programmes altogether (Fichter, 2008). More commonly, however, the unions develop ''caste'' arrangements in collaboration with employers and the state, reinforcing the allocation of locals and migrants to fundamentally different jobs and wage systems, in the hope of curtailing the capacity of labour importation to drive down wages and conditions generally (Bonacich, 1972;Bonacich, 1975;Bonacich, 1979;Virdee, 2000). Union demands for reductions in intakes accommodate these ''caste'' arrangements.…”