Wage Inequality for Black, Hispanic and Native American Women
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 3:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Hyatt Regency Chicago, Wright
- Chair: Jermaine Toney, New School
Do State Minimum Wages Affect Black Female Incarceration Rate?
Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between state minimum wages and black incarcer-ation rate in the US from 1980 to 2010. The existing literature already established that increase in state minimum wage causes increase in state unemployment rate in the short run. We obtain the data from the National Prisoner Statistics Codebook and the US census. Consistent with the congressional budget office report we also find that on an average every year about 5.3% workers are affected by minimum wage and out of these workers a major fraction is female teenagers. Using the number of democrat members in the lower and upper houses and senate members for each state as a set of instruments for state minimum wages we find that if state minimum wage increases by 1 dollar then on an average there will be 1 additional female prisoner per 1000 black population. Since the average black population in each state is 0.697 million in the sample time period, each additional dollar increase in state minimum wage would increase about 697 black female prisoners for each state.Explaining the 40 Year Old Wage Differential: Race and Gender in the United States
Abstract
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2014, state and local government was the largest employer among all major industry sectors. In this paper we ask, what are the current facts about gender and race in labor market outcomes for public workers compared to those 40 years prior? We find small earnings differentials by race and large differentials by gender in 2014, and large differentials by race and gender in 1975. When describing the causes of these patterns we find group poverty levels and marriage status as the most related group characteristics. In addition, almost all earnings by public sector workers were raised above the average U.S. worker because of productive group characteristics. However, all female workers had lower than average rates of return on group characteristics which for non-Hispanic black, Hispanic white, and Mexican females was not offset by an equal or greater amount of group characteristics.Inequality in the Labor Market for Native American Women and the Great Recession
Abstract
Existing research has documented the negative outcomes associated with recessionary periods differ based upon gender, race, income percentile, and educational attainment, resulting in a widening of existing gaps and increased inequality between groups. Native American women are highly concentrated in areas within these groups that are disproportionately impacted by recessions. This research paper builds on previous literature and documents general changes in the labor market for Native American women that occurred during the Great Recession using extracts of data from the Current Population Survey Annual Earnings file, known as the Merged Outgoing Rotation Groups (MORG). Wages, unemployment and other labor market variables for Native American women are contrasted with those of Native American men and white women to determine the relative change in Labor market inequality that occurred during the Great Recession.Discussant(s)
Randall Akee
, University of California-Los Angeles
Peter Blair
, Clemson University
Rhonda V. Sharpe
, Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research
Gabriela Caceress
, Florida State University
JEL Classifications
- I2 - Education and Research Institutions
- J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs