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The Rise of Guard Labor in the United States: Evidence from Local Labor Markets

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  • Luke Petach
  • Anastasia Wilson

Abstract

We examine the rise of “Guard Labor†—defined as occupations devoted to labor extraction—at the commuting zone level in the United States. Between 1950 and 2017 the share of the labor force employed in guard labor increased from 19.5 percent to 29.4 percent. We explore the local labor market correlates of guard labor and validate several predictions of the labor discipline model, while extending the model to the context of contemporary racial capitalism. The share of the labor force employed in guard labor is positively correlated with the household income Gini coefficient, negatively correlated with the fraction of the labor force in a union, and positively correlated with contemporary measures of local racial animosity. Consistent with the labor discipline model, an increase in the share of the labor force employed in supervisory occupations has a significant negative effect on nonsupervisory wages. JEL Classification: O17, P16, Z13, B51, B52

Suggested Citation

  • Luke Petach & Anastasia Wilson, 2024. "The Rise of Guard Labor in the United States: Evidence from Local Labor Markets," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 56(2), pages 185-213, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:56:y:2024:i:2:p:185-213
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134231195390
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    guard labor; supervisory labor; incomplete contracts; inequality; local labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;

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