Unlevel Playing Fields Understanding Wage Inequality and Discrimination

Edition:4th

Date of publication:August 2013

ISBN:978-1-939402-05-9

Pages:193

Price:$36.95

• About
• Table of Contents

Unlevel Playing Fields is an exceptionally accessible, one-volume introduction to wage inequality and discrimination in the United States labor market. The authors contrast two economic theories—neoclassical and political economy—and show how each theory explains labor market inequalities. The authors also offer bold policy proposals to rectify these inequalities. The thoroughly updated fourth edition includes more than 50 years of employment trends and data.

Praise for Unlevel Playing Fields:

"I used this book as part of a course on poverty and discrimination. The students love it. Many have said it is the best economics book they have ever read."
— Doug Orr, Professor of Economics, City College of San Francisco

"Unlevel Playing Fields is a great text for introductory-level students. It is very successful in giving students the necessary analytical tools for grappling with important debates about racial and gender wage gaps, labor market discrimination, and affirmative action policies. It is an excellent book to teach from, since the theory is so well presented and it is always grounded in real world issues."
— Carole Biewener, Simmons College

"Unlevel Playing Fields is an excellent, accessible theoretical survey of the economic analysis of race and gender for students with a wide range of backgrounds in economics, including those with no exposure to economics at all. I recommend it very highly."
— Mary King, Portland State University

• PREFACE
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO WAGE INEQUALITY
• Chapter 1: Two Views on Inequality and Discrimination
  • A GLIMPSE AT DISCRIMINATION
  • TWO VIEWS FROM ECONOMICS
  • WHAT'S AT STAKE HERE
  • PLAN OF THE BOOK
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
• Chapter 2: Labor Market Inequality by the Numbers
  • INTRODUCTION: LIES, DAMN LIES, AND STATISTICS
  • WAGES: THE BASICS OF WAGE INEQUALITY
    • The Minimum Wage
    • The Rise and Fall of Real Wages
    • The Increase in Wage Inequality
    • Growing Family Income and Wealth Gaps
  • UNEMPLOYMENT TRENDS SINCE THE 1950s:
  • PERSISTENT INEQUALITIES
    • Measuring Unemployment and Employment
    • Unemployment and the Business Cycle
    • The Race Gap
    • Gender Differences
  • THE DISTRIBUTION OF JOBS: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
    • Industry Differences
    • Occupational Differences
    • Occupational Segregation
    • The Possibility of Discrimination
  • SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
• PART 2 THE NEOCLASSICAL APPROACH
• CHAPTER 3 The Basics of Neoclassical Economics
  • CENTRAL IDEAS: MARKETS AND COMPETITION
  • HOW PEOPLE ACT: RATIONALITY, SCARCITY, AND OPPORTUNITY COST
  • WELCOME TO THE MARKET: DEMAND AND SUPPLY
    • Demand
    • Supply
    • Equilibrium
  • EFFICIENCY, EQUITY, AND THE GOVERNMENT
    • Efficiency
    • Equity
    • Laissez-faire Policies
  • BEHIND THE MARKET: THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
  • SUMMING UP
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
  • APPENDIX: A CLOSER LOOK: THE ROOTS OF NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS
    • Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations
    • David Ricardo and Comparative Advantage
    • The Marginalists
    • Pareto and Efficiency
• Chapter 4: Work and Wages in the Neoclassical Model
  • INTRODUCTION: THE MARKET FOR WORK
  • THE DEMAND FOR LABOR: WHY FIRMS EMPLOY PEOPLE
  • THE SUPPLY OF LABOR: WHO WANTS TO WORK, AND HOW
  • PRODUCTIVE ARE THE WORKERS?
    • The Work Decision
    • Human Capital
    • Household Production
  • EXPLAINING WAGE DIFFERENCES
    • Firm-specific and General Human Capital
    • Compensating Differences and Hedonic Wages
    • Inheritance
  • UNEMPLOYMENT
    • Structural Unemployment
    • Frictional Unemployment
    • Seasonal Unemployment
    • Linking Unemployment and Wages
  • The Keynesian Challenge
  • THE FAIRNESS OF INEQUALITY: WAGE DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
• Chapter 5: Discrimination in the Neoclassical View
  • INTRODUCTION: DIFFERENCE AND DISCRIMINATION
    • The Inefficiency of Discrimination
    • Three Outcomes from Discrimination
  • MODELS OF DISCRIMINATION BASED ON PREJUDICE: CONSUMERS, EMPLOYERS, AND EMPLOYEES
    • Consumer Discrimination
    • Employer Discrimination
    • Employee Discrimination
  • STATISTICAL DISCRIMINATION
    • The Transaction Costs Problem
    • The Problem of Statistical Discrimination
    • Comparing Prejudice and Statistical Discrimination
  • THE MAGIC OF THE MARKET TO THE RESCUE: ENDING DISCRIMINATION
    • Ending Discrimination Because of Prejudice
    • Ending Statistical Discrimination
  • MEASURING WAGE DISCRIMINATION
    • How to Measure Wage Discrimination
    • How Severe Is Wage Discrimination?
    • Problems with Measures of Wage Discrimination
  • WHY DISCRIMINATION PERSISTS
    • Premarket Discrimination
    • Cultural and Biological Differences
  • POLICIES AND PRESCRIPTIONS
  • SUMMARY
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
• PART 3 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROACH
• Chapter 7: Work and Wages in the Political Economy
  • INTRODUCTION: MORE THAN A PAYCHECK
  • WAGE DETERMINATION
    • The Labor Theory of Value
    • The Role of Customs and Institutions
    • Home Production and the Family Wage
    • Income Supports and the Social Wage
  • MACROECONOMICS: THE ROLE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
  • LABOR MARKETS IN CAPITALISM: MOTIVATION AND THE LABOR
  • PROCESS
    • The Cost of Job Loss: Unemployment Is No Picnic
    • The Labor Process: Simplify and Control
  • EXPLAINING WAGE DIFFERENTIALS
    • Labor Segmentation: Divide and Conquer Everywhere
    • The New Labor Segmentation
    • Traditions: Faces Filling Places
  • SUMMARY
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS
• Chapter 8: The Political Economy Model of Discrimination
  • INTRODUCTION: EXPLOITATION, DOMINATION, AND EXCLUSION AGAIN
  • DISCRIMINATION IN CONTEXT: WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU
  • GROUNDS FOR DISCRIMINATION: ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION
    • Economic Incentives
    • Organizational Adaptation: Don't Rock the Boat
  • THE DYNAMICS OF DISCRIMINATION
    • Discrimination and the Business Cycle
    • The Long-Run Dynamics of Discrimination
  • WHAT TO DO?
    • A Work and Family Bill of Rights
    • How Does the Work and Family Bill of Rights Involve and Empower Groups?
    • Making Change
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  • SUGGESTED READINGS