The Measurement of Racial Discrimination in Pay between Job Categories: Theory and Test

Örn B. Bodvarsson () and John Sessions ()
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Örn B. Bodvarsson: Retired

No 3748, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The traditional model of taste discrimination in labor markets presumes perfect substitution, making it unsuitable for the measurement of discrimination across job assignments. We extend the model to explain cross-assignment discrimination and test it on data from Major League Baseball. A competitive firm with a Generalized Leontief production function fills each job assignment with whites and nonwhites in an environment of customer prejudice. According to the model, cross-assignment discrimination depends upon racial productivity differences, the productivity x prejudice interaction, technology, relative labor supply and racial integration. We find strong evidence of ceteris paribus racial salary differences between hitters and pitchers.

Keywords: integration; imperfect substitutability; wages; discrimination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J7 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2008-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published as 'The Measurement of Pay Discrimination Between Job Assignments' in: Labour Economics, 2011, 18 (3), 297-309

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