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The Stability of the American Business Elite

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  • Peter Temin

Abstract

This paper begins the task of explaining why the American business elite has remained white, male and mostly native-born Protestants for a century, as verified in a previous paper (Temin, 1997). I argue that the evidence is inconsistent with the hypotheses that the stability is due to discrimination on the job or to principal-agent factors. The most likely explanation is that this demographic group makes the best business managers. I suggest that this in turn is not because they are inherently superior, but because they have had access to superior education, a result of past discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Temin, 1998. "The Stability of the American Business Elite," NBER Historical Working Papers 0110, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberhi:0110
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