2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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abstract: 'Racial earnings inequalities in the United States diminished
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significantly over the three decades following World War II, but since
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then have not changed very much. Meanwhile, black-white disparities in
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employment have become increasingly pronounced. What accounts for this
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historical pattern? Sociologists often understand the evolution of
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racial wage and employment inequality as the consequence of economic
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restructuring, resulting in narratives about black economic fortunes
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that emphasize changing skill demands related to the rise and fall of
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the industrial economy. Reviewing a large body of work by economic
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historians and other researchers, this article contends that the
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historical evidence is not consistent with manufacturing-and
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skills-centered explanations of changes in relative black earnings and
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employment. Instead, data from the 1940s onward suggest that racial
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earnings inequalities have been significantly influenced by political
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and institutional factors-social movements, government policies,
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unionization efforts, and public-employment patterns-and that racial
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employment disparities have increased over the course of the postwar and
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post-1970s periods for reasons that are not reducible to skills. Taking
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a broader historical view suggests that black economic fortunes have
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long been powerfully shaped by nonmarket factors and recenters research
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on racial discrimination as well as the political and institutional
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forces that influence labor markets.'
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affiliation: 'Sites, W (Corresponding Author), Univ Chicago, Sch Social Serv Adm,
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Chicago, IL 60637 USA.
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Sites, William; Parks, Virginia, Univ Chicago, Sch Social Serv Adm, Chicago, IL
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60637 USA.'
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author: Sites, William and Parks, Virginia
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author-email: 'w-sites@uchicago.edu
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vparks@uchicago.edu'
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author_list:
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- family: Sites
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given: William
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- family: Parks
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given: Virginia
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1177/0032329210394998
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files: []
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issn: 0032-3292
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journal: POLITICS \& SOCIETY
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keywords: 'earnings; employment; racial discrimination; deindustrialization; skills
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mismatch; labor-market institutions'
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keywords-plus: 'WHITE WAGE DIFFERENTIALS; CIVIL-RIGHTS POLICY; UNITED-STATES;
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TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE; UNEMPLOYMENT GAP; PUBLIC-SECTOR; RELATIVE
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EARNINGS; GREAT COMPRESSION; FAMILY-STRUCTURE; JOB SEGREGATION'
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language: English
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month: MAR
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number: '1'
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number-of-cited-references: '134'
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pages: 40-73
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papis_id: 6ca8bd50446cc26d53a80ee71a84b32d
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ref: Sites2011whatdo
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times-cited: '19'
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title: What Do We Really Know About Racial Inequality? Labor Markets, Politics, and
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the Historical Basis of Black Economic Fortunes
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2023-10-01 08:15:07 +00:00
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type: article
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2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
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unique-id: WOS:000287963300002
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usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
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usage-count-since-2013: '31'
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volume: '39'
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web-of-science-categories: Political Science; Social Issues; Sociology
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year: '2011'
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