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What Do We Really Know About Racial Inequality? Labor Markets, Politics, and the Historical Basis of Black Economic Fortunes

Author

Listed:
  • William Sites

    (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, w-sites@uchicago.edu)

  • Virginia Parks

    (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, vparks@uchicago.edu)

Abstract

Racial earnings inequalities in the United States diminished significantly over the three decades following World War II, but since then have not changed very much. Meanwhile, black—white disparities in employment have become increasingly pronounced. What accounts for this historical pattern? Sociologists often understand the evolution of racial wage and employment inequality as the consequence of economic restructuring, resulting in narratives about black economic fortunes that emphasize changing skill demands related to the rise and fall of the industrial economy. Reviewing a large body of work by economic historians and other researchers, this article contends that the historical evidence is not consistent with manufacturing- and skills-centered explanations of changes in relative black earnings and employment. Instead, data from the 1940s onward suggest that racial earnings inequalities have been significantly influenced by political and institutional factors—social movements, government policies, unionization efforts, and public-employment patterns—and that racial employment disparities have increased over the course of the postwar and post-1970s periods for reasons that are not reducible to skills. Taking a broader historical view suggests that black economic fortunes have long been powerfully shaped by nonmarket factors and recenters research on racial discrimination as well as the political and institutional forces that influence labor markets.

Suggested Citation

  • William Sites & Virginia Parks, 2011. "What Do We Really Know About Racial Inequality? Labor Markets, Politics, and the Historical Basis of Black Economic Fortunes," Politics & Society, , vol. 39(1), pages 40-73, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:39:y:2011:i:1:p:40-73
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329210394998
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Farber, Henry S, 1990. "The Decline of Unionization in the United States: What Can Be Learned from Recent Experience," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 75-105, January.
    2. M. Badgett, 1994. "Rising black unemployment: Changes in job stability or in employability?," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 55-75, March.
    3. Fairlie, Robert W & Sundstrom, William A, 1997. "The Racial Unemployment Gap in Long-Run Perspective," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 306-310, May.
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