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Black-white wage inequality in the 1990s: a decade of progress

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  • Kenneth A. Couch
  • Mary C. Daly

Abstract

Using Current Population Survey data, we find that the gap between wages by black and white males declined during the 1990s at a rate of 0.59 percentage point per year. The reduction in occupational crowding appears to be most important in explaining this trend. Recent wage convergence was most rapid among younger workers with less than 10 years experience; for this group the black-white wage gap declined by 1.40 percentage points per year. Among younger workers greater occupational diversity and a reduction in unexplained or residual differences are important in explaining this trend. For both younger and older workers, general wage inequality tempered the rate of wage convergence between blacks and whites during the 1990s.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenneth A. Couch & Mary C. Daly, 2000. "Black-white wage inequality in the 1990s: a decade of progress," Working Paper Series 2000-07, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2000-07
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    1. William M. Rodgers III, 1997. "Male Sub-metropolitan Black-White Wage Gaps: New Evidence for the 1980s," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(8), pages 1201-1213, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Benjamin Lerch, 2021. "From Blue to Steel-Collar Jobs: The Decline in Employment Gaps?," IdEP Economic Papers 2102, USI Università della Svizzera italiana.
    2. Siwei Cheng & Christopher R. Tamborini & ChangHwan Kim & Arthur Sakamoto, 2019. "Educational Variations in Cohort Trends in the Black-White Earnings Gap Among Men: Evidence From Administrative Earnings Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2253-2277, December.
    3. Canaday, Neil & Tamura, Robert, 2009. "White discrimination in provision of black education: Plantations and towns," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1490-1530, July.
    4. Amitabh Chandra, 2003. "Is the Convergence of the Racial Wage Gap Illusory?," NBER Working Papers 9476, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Susan Turner Meiklejohn, 2002. "Overqualified Minority Youth in a Detroit Job Training Program: Implications for the Spatial and Skills Mismatch Debates," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 16(4), pages 342-359, November.
    6. Chantreuil, Frédéric & Fourrey, Kévin & Lebon, Isabelle & Rebiere, Therese, 2020. "Decomposing US Income Inequality à La Shapley: Race Matters, but Gender Too," IZA Discussion Papers 12950, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Kenneth Y. Chay & Jonathan Guryan & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2014. "Early Life Environment and Racial Inequality in Education and Earnings in the United States," Working Paper Series WP-2014-28, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    8. John S. Heywood & Daniel Parent, 2012. "Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 249-290.
    9. Kenneth Couch & Robert Fairlie, 2010. "Last hired, first fired? black-white unemployment and the business cycle," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 227-247, February.
    10. Jamie H. Douglas & Michael D. Steinberger, 2015. "The Sexual Orientation Wage Gap for Racial Minorities," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 59-108, January.
    11. David Card & John E. DiNardo, 2002. "Skill-Biased Technological Change and Rising Wage Inequality: Some Problems and Puzzles," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(4), pages 733-783, October.
    12. Richard Burkhauser & Jeff Larrimore, 2008. "Using Internal Current Population Survey Data to Reevaluate Trends in Labor Earnings Gaps by Gender, Race, and Education Level," Working Papers 08-18, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    13. Winters, John V. & Hirsch, Barry, 2012. "An Anatomy of Racial and Ethnic Trends in Male Earnings," IZA Discussion Papers 6766, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Srikanth Ramamurthy & Norman Sedgley, 2019. "A Note on School Quality, Educational Attainment and the Wage Gap," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 415-421, June.
    15. John J. Donohue III, 2005. "The Law and Economics of Antidiscrimination Law," NBER Working Papers 11631, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Srikanth Ramamurthy & Norman Sedgley, 2015. "Human Capital Choice and the Wage Gap: The Role of Worklife Expectancy and Statistical Discrimination," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 175-187, June.
    17. Huoying Wu, 2007. "Can The Human Capital Approach Explain Life‐Cycle Wage Differentials Between Races And Sexes?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(1), pages 24-39, January.
    18. Arthur H. Goldsmith & Darrick Hamilton & William Darity, Jr, 2007. "From Dark to Light: Skin Color and Wages Among African-Americans," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(4).

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    Keywords

    Income distribution; Wages;

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