Labor Market Effects of Sex and Race Discrimination Laws

1
Labor Market Effects of Sex and Race
Discrimination Laws

• David Neumark and Wendy A. Stock
• Presented By
• Andrew Inhelder
• Gentri Rice
• Eric Almeida

2
Goal

• To evaluate the effectiveness of state
  anti-discrimination policies concerning relative
  labor market outcomes for women and minorities

3
Data

• 196 federal law eliminates possibility of
  comparison to a control group
• Thus individual-level data taken from the 1940-60
  U.S. Census of Population

4
Data

• Samples are restricted to those who are black or
  white, and aged 18 to 70
• Drop those in armed forces, self-employed
  workers, and unpaid workers
• Separated southern states

5
Analysis
States With
States Without
Vs.
Anti-Discrimination Laws
6
Results

• Race Discrimination Laws
• No immediate effect on differential outcomes
• Over time a statistically significant positive
  effect on relative earnings of black men
• Grows by 0.28 per year while laws are in effect

7
Results

• Sex Discrimination Laws
• Immediate negative effect on relative pay and
  relative employment
• Growing positive effect over time
• After 6 years the positive effect offsets the
  immediate reduction

8
EmploymentResults
Initial Effect of law
Additional effect of law per decades since passage
9
EarningsResults
Initial Effect of law
Additional effect of law per decades since passage
10
Flaws

• Since there was a larger increase in economic
  outcomes in the 40s-50s for women and minorities
  it is difficult to evaluate the laws
  effectiveness
• Only compared blacks and whites

11
Conclusion

• Indicated the laws had an immediate trade-off
  effect on earnings and employment of women
• Positive effect on earnings
• Negative effect on employment
• Laws had a delayed positive effect on earnings of
  black males