Task-Based Discrimination

We develop a task-based model of occupational sorting to identify and quantify the effect of discrimination, racial skill gaps, and aggregate task prices on Black-White differences in labor market outcomes over time. At the heart of our framework is the idea that the size and nature of racial barrie...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American economic review 2024-06, Vol.114 (6), p.1723-1768
Main Authors: Hurst, Erik, Rubinstein, Yona, Shimizu, Kazuatsu
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We develop a task-based model of occupational sorting to identify and quantify the effect of discrimination, racial skill gaps, and aggregate task prices on Black-White differences in labor market outcomes over time. At the heart of our framework is the idea that the size and nature of racial barriers faced by Black workers vary by the task requirements of each job. We define a new task that measures the extent to which individuals interact with others as part of their job. We show that this measure is a good proxy for the extent of discrimination in the economy. (JEL J15, J23, J31, J71, M51)
ISSN:0002-8282
1944-7981
DOI:10.1257/aer.20220234