The Widening Black-White Wage Gap among Women

Houseworth, Christina and Fisher, Jonathan (2017): The Widening Black-White Wage Gap among Women. Published in: Labour , Vol. 3, No. 31 (2017): pp. 288-308.

Abstract

Abstract. We utilize over 30 years of the Current Population Survey to examine labor force participation and wage patterns among five cohorts of white and black women. By estimating wages using four selection correction techniques in determining the wage gap for women who are not in the labor force, we provide evidence of the changing role of selection among women over time. We find an increasing observed wage gap between white and black women for younger cohorts; however, the decline in selection for both black and white women does not explain the rising wage gap.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: wages, wage gap, race, labor force, inequality
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J21 - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure ; Wage Differentials

References

Albrecht J., van Vuuren A. and Vroman S. (2015) ‘The Black-white Wage Gap Among Young Women in 1990 cs. 2011: The Role of Selection and Educational Attainment’, Labour Economics 33: 66–71.

Bailey M. J. (2006) ‘More Power to the Pill: The Impact of Contraceptive Freedom on Women’s Life Cycle Labor Supply’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 121(1): 289–320.

Besharov D. J. and West A. (2002) “African American Marriage Patterns’, Beyond the Color Line : New Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity in America” in Thernstrom A. and Thernstrom S. (eds.) New York: Hoover Institution Press Publication: 95–113.

Blank R. M. (2002) ‘Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States’, Journal of Economic Literature 40(4): 1105–1166.

Blau F. and Kahn L. (2007) ‘Changes in the Labor Supply Behavior of Married Women: 1980–2000’, Journal of Labor Economics 25(3): 393–438.

Blundell R., Gosling A., Ichimura H. and Meghir C. (2007) ‘Changes in the Distribution of Male and Female Wages Accounting for Employment Composition Using Bounds’, Econometrica 75(2): 323–363.

Bonczar T. P. (2003) ‘Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974–2001’, Washington: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. August, 2003. Web. <https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/piusp01.pdf>

Chetty R., Hendren N., Lin F., Majerovitz J. and Scuderi B. (2016) ‘Childhood Environment and Gender Gaps in Adulthood’, NBERWorking Paper No. 21936.

Eissa N. and Liebman J. (1996) ‘Labor Supply Response to the Earned Income Tax Credit’, Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(2): 605–637.

Fisher J. D. and Houseworth C. A. (2012) ‘The Reverse Wage Gap among Educated White and Black Women’, Journal of Economic Inequality 10(4): 449–470.

Goldin C., Katz L. and Kuziemko I. (2006) ‘The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the College Gender Gap’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(4): 133–156.

Greenwood J., Guner N., Kocharkov G. and Santos C. (2014) ‘Marrying Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality’, NBERWorking Paper No. 19829.

Grogger J. (2003) ‘The Effects of Time Limits, the EITC, and Other Policy Changes on Welfare Use, Work, and Income among Female-headed Families’, Review of Economics and Statistics 85(2): 394–408.

Heckman J. (1974) ‘Shadow Prices, Market Wages, and Labor Supply’, Econometrica 42(4): 679–694.

Hirsch B. T. and Winters J. V. (2014) ‘An Anatomy of Racial and Ethnic Trends in Male Earnings in The U.S.’, Review of Income and Wealth 60(4): 930–947.

Juhn C. and Murphy K. (1997) ‘Wage Inequality and Female Labor Supply’, Journal of Labor Economics 15(1): 72–97.

Juhn C. and Potter S. (2006) ‘Changes in Labor Force Participation in the United States’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(3): 27–46.

Klerman J. and Leibowitz A. (1995) ‘Explaining Changes in Married Mothers’, Employment over Time’, Demography 32(3): 365–378.

Manski C. F. (1995) Identification Problems in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

McHenry P. and McInerney M. (2014) ‘The Importance of Living an Education in Estimates of the Conditional Wage Gap Between Black and White Women’, The Journal of Human Resources 49(3): 695–722.

Meyer B. and Rosenbaum D. (2001) ‘Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers’, Quarterly Journal of Economics 116(3): 1063–1114.

Mincer J. and Ofek H. (1982) ‘Interrupted Work Careers: Depreciation and Restoration of Human Capital’, Journal of Human Resources 17(1): 3–24.

Mishel L., Bivens J., Gould E. and Shierholz H. (2012) The State of Working America, 12th edn. Ithaca: ILR Press.

Mulligan C. and Rubinstein Y. (2008) ‘Selection, Investment, and Women’s Relative Wages Over Time’, Quarterly Journal of Economics 123(3): 1061–1110.

Neal D. (2004) ‘The Measured Black-White Wage Gap among Women is Too Small’, Journal of Political Economy 112(1): S1–S28.

Nichols A. and Rothstein J. (2015) ‘The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)’, NBER Working Paper No. 21211.

Pew Research Center: Social and Demographic Trends (2009) The Harried Life of the Working Mother. Washington, D.C.: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Ruggles S. (2014) ‘Marriage, Family Systems, and Economic Opportunity in the United States Since 1850’, University of Minnesota Working Paper No. 2014-11.

Shank S. E. (1988) ‘Women and the Labor Market: The Link Grows Stronger’, Monthly Labor Review 111(3): 3–8.

Smith R. (2002) ‘Race, Gender, Authority in the Workplace’, Annual Review of Sociology 28: 509– 542.

Wilson G. (2012) ‘Women’s Mobility into Upper-Tier Occupations: Do Determinants and Timing Differ by Race?’, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 639: 131–148.