Male White-Black Wage Gaps, 1979-1994: A Distributional Analysis

Rodgers, William M.

doi:10.2307/20111852

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Reardon (1997) shows that the general inequality story of skill biased technical change may be particularly important in explaining racial inequality growth among highly skilled blacks and whites. Similarly, Rogers (2006) shows that the stretching (increased variance of wages) of the skill distribution during the 1980s explains the growth in within group white-black wage gaps at the top of that distribution. Related work by Bound and Freeman (1992) and by Chay and Lee (2000) document a widening in the black white earnings differential for young men over the 1980s and 2 Although Johnson and Neal (1998) are quick to emphasize that only five percent of black men in their sample score more than one standard deviation above the mean.…”

Section: Further Motivationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap

Heywood

Parent

2012

Journal of Labor Economics

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We show that the reported tendency for performance pay to be associated with greater wage inequality at the top of the earnings distribution applies only to white workers. This results in the white-black wage differential among those in performance pay jobs growing over the earnings distribution even as the same differential shrinks over the distribution for those not in performance pay jobs. We show this remains true even when examining suitable counterfactuals that hold observables constant between whites and blacks. We explore reasons behind our finding that performance pay is associated with greater racial earnings gaps at the top of the wage distribution focusing on the interactions between discrimination, unmeasured ability and selection. AbstractWe show that the reported tendency for performance pay to be associated with greater wage inequality at the top of the earnings distribution applies only to white workers. This results in the white-black wage differential among those in performance pay jobs growing over the earnings distribution even as the same differential shrinks over the distribution for those not in performance pay jobs. We show this remains true even when examining suitable counterfactuals that hold observables constant between whites and blacks. We explore reasons behind our finding that performance pay is associated with greater racial earnings gaps at the top of the wage distribution focusing on the interactions between discrimination, unmeasured ability and selection.

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Section: Further Motivationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap

Heywood

Parent

2012

Journal of Labor Economics

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“…Braddock and McPartland, 1987;Bound and Freeman, 1992;Fugazza, 2003;Kaufman, 1983). However, the fact remains that Black men are still paid less than White men overall (Bound and Freeman, 1992;Chandra, 2000;Fugazza, 2003;Rodgers, 2006). The current paper will take a new perspective on the issue of wage gaps between Black and White employees.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, the closing of the wage differential ceased during the mid-1970s, and it is not clear why the wage stagnation occurred (Smith, 1993). In fact, there is evidence that the gap widened again in the 1980s (Rodgers, 2006), and is still present today. Chandra (2000) found that in 1990, Black men made about 76 percent of White men's dollar, and census data from 2000 found that the median overall income for White households was $46,305 while the median overall income for Black households was only $29,470, which is only 64 percent of the White household income (US Census Bureau, 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…have all been found to play a role in the continuing wage gap (Fugazza, 2003). However, Rodgers (2006) found that the wage gap still exists even when education and skills are controlled for, and he suggests that early disadvantages due to discrimination continue to affect Blacks today, even when they are highly skilled college graduates. For example, Rodgers' distributional analysis showed that in 1994 (his most recent data), Black college graduates who were entering the job market made 16 percent less than White college graduates entering the market.…”

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The role of race and social class in compensation decisions

Weeks

Weeks²,

Frost³

2007

Journal of Managerial Psychology

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of race and social class on wage differentials between Black and White employees. Design/methodology/approach -A survey with four possible conditions (white/black target who was lower/middle class) was used in the study to examine the interaction between race and social class on compensation decisions. Findings -The paper finds that there was a significant interaction between race and social class when predicting the percentage of pay increase given to employees. Specifically, there was a significant negative correlation between perceptions of social class and percentage of increase when the target was Black, but there was no such correlation when the target was White.Research limitations/implications -The sample was 95.6 percent White and did not consist of managerial employees in actual compensation decisions; however, it shows evidence that people are affected by their perceptions of social class and race when making such decisions. Practical implications -Policy makers should not forget that perceived social class might interact with race to influence discriminatory decisions in workplaces. This research suggests that Black employees who are perceived to be middle class are discriminated against more than those who are perceived to be lower class. Businesses need to be aware of unintentional biases that may be plaguing their managers and train them to avoid such biases. Originality/value -This paper contributes new insight into the literature on the wage gap between Black and White employees by showing the interaction between race and perceived social class when predicting pay increases.

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“…15 15 By using the 1979–1994 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group files, Rodgers (2006) finds that the black‐white male wage gap expanded as new entrants turned into prime‐age workers. He points out that the growing male racial wage gap as these men aged could be a result of racial differences in regenerative human capital investment. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the Human Capital Approach Explain Life‐cycle Wage Differentials Between Races and Sexes?

2006

Economic Inquiry

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"Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 cohort (NLSY79), this paper shows the importance of postschool human capital investment in describing both gender and racial wage gaps. The empirical results suggest that male-female wage gaps, regardless of race, are mainly caused by gender differences in the human capital production process; generally, men gain more work experience and therefore have lower marginal costs of human capital production. Black-white lifetime wage differentials could partly result from higher implicit interest rates for blacks, while the deterioration of black males' relative economic status as they age can be attributed to higher depreciation rates of their human capital stock." ("JEL" J24, J30, C61) Copyright 2006 Western Economic Association International.

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Male White-Black Wage Gaps, 1979-1994: A Distributional Analysis

Abstract: for their helpful comments and suggestions. I also thank Jared Bernstein for sharing his copy of the February 1990 CPS file, and thank seminar participants of the

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap

Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap

The role of race and social class in compensation decisions

Can the Human Capital Approach Explain Life‐cycle Wage Differentials Between Races and Sexes?

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