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Structural characteristics of firms and industries and black and white wage inequality in the U.S. economy: 1988

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Abstract

The effects of firm and job characteristics on the wages of blacks and whites are analyzed using data from the 1988 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997]. This study focuses on 2,370 full-time private sector employees. The results show that, first, blacks are disproportionately employed in large establishments despite their lower cognitive achievements. Second, blacks do not enjoy significant wage premiums associated with supervisory positions. Third, although the wage gap between blacks and whites is reduced considerably, controlling for education and cognitive skills, the gap increases significantly when structural attributes are included in the wage regressions despite the large wage premiums associated with employment in large establishments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas at Arlington, U.S.A.

    Aparna Mitra

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  1. Aparna Mitra
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Mitra, A. Structural characteristics of firms and industries and black and white wage inequality in the U.S. economy: 1988. Atlantic Economic Journal 27, 179–192 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02300237

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