The Way We Were?: Discrimination, Competition, and Inter-industry Wage Differentials in 1970

Abstract

This article presents and econometrically tests three models of discrimination and competition. The analysis facilitates a comparison of Marxist, segmentation, and neoclassical explanations of inter-industry wage differentials and the distribution of employment by race and gender. Our results (1) demonstrate race and gender rationing of manufacturing employment in 1970, and (2) lend support to the notion that both competition between capitals and employment discrimination are historically important determinants of gender and racial earnings inequality.