Research Interest
- Labor Economics
- Applied Econometrics
- Applied Microeconomics
- Imperfect Information
Job Market Paper
Are Blacks Really Doing Worse than Before in the Labor Market? Evidence from the NLSY
Abstract
This paper compares the black-white wage gap for the NLSY 79 cohort and the NLSY 97 cohort. There are three major findings in this paper: 1. The black-white wage gap for males is larger conditional on AFQT for the NLSY 97 cohort, and the reason is because employment of the NLSY 79 cohort was much more sensitive to recessions leading to a positively selected black male sample with higher observed wages. The employment outcomes for blacks in the NSLY 97 cohort were less sensitive, so the black-white wage gap conditional on premarket ability is large. 2. The black-white wage gap for males and females conditional on pre-market ability is no longer sensitive to the control for education for the NLSY 97 cohort because both black males and females are no longer getting higher education levels conditional on ability. 3. Pre-market ability is less important for males in the NLSY 97 cohort.
This paper compares the black-white wage gap for the NLSY 79 cohort and the NLSY 97 cohort. There are three major findings in this paper: 1. The black-white wage gap for males is larger conditional on AFQT for the NLSY 97 cohort, and the reason is because employment of the NLSY 79 cohort was much more sensitive to recessions leading to a positively selected black male sample with higher observed wages. The employment outcomes for blacks in the NSLY 97 cohort were less sensitive, so the black-white wage gap conditional on premarket ability is large. 2. The black-white wage gap for males and females conditional on pre-market ability is no longer sensitive to the control for education for the NLSY 97 cohort because both black males and females are no longer getting higher education levels conditional on ability. 3. Pre-market ability is less important for males in the NLSY 97 cohort.