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Revisiting Bergmann’s Occupational Crowding Model

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  • Michelle Holder

Abstract

In 1971, economist Barbara Bergmann developed the “occupational crowding model,†which posited that black men are “crowded into†low-wage occupations and “crowded out†of high-wage occupations due to employer discrimination. In quantitative analyses I have conducted for the years 2010 through 2011, the results have yielded a different picture from what Bergmann’s model predicts: although African American men are underrepresented in high-wage occupations, consistent with her model, this group does not appear to be overrepresented in low-wage occupational categories when the level of analysis is between major low-wage occupational categories instead of within categories. I attribute this to demographic changes in the US labor force, and conclude by suggesting that the model now requires further specification. JEL Codes: J15, J62, J71

Suggested Citation

  • Michelle Holder, 2018. "Revisiting Bergmann’s Occupational Crowding Model," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 50(4), pages 683-690, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:50:y:2018:i:4:p:683-690
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613418788406
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bergmann, Barbara R, 1971. "The Effect on White Incomes of Discrimination in Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(2), pages 294-313, March-Apr.
    2. Mason, Patrick L, 1999. "Male Interracial Wage Differentials: Competing Explanations," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(3), pages 261-299, May.
    3. Karen Gibson & William Darity & Samuel Myers, 1998. "Revisiting Occupational Crowding in the United States: A Preliminary Study," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 73-95.
    4. Kenneth J. Arrow, 1998. "What Has Economics to Say about Racial Discrimination?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 91-100, Spring.
    5. William A. Darity Jr., 1982. "The Human Capital Approach to Black-White Earnings Inequality: Some Unsettled Questions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 17(1), pages 72-93.
    6. Andrea H. Beller, 1982. "Occupational Segregation by Sex: Determinants and Changes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 17(3), pages 371-392.
    7. William A. Darity & Patrick L. Mason, 1998. "Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 63-90, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nathan Seltzer, 2019. "Beyond the Great Recession: Labor Market Polarization and Ongoing Fertility Decline in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1463-1493, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    occupational segregation; occupational crowding; African American employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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