1. A NOTE ON THE RELATIVE INCOME OF NONWHITE MEN 1948-1964.
- Author
-
Rasmussen, David W.
- Subjects
EMPLOYMENT discrimination ,RACE discrimination ,EMIGRATION & immigration ,INCOME ,ECONOMICS - Abstract
This article comments on a study entitled The Decline in the Relative Income of Negro Men, which investigated the trend in the relative income of African American men from 1948-1964. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate two of the propositions in the study regarding the trend in the income ratio of the employees. First, the hypothesis that fluctuations in aggregate demand affect the income ratio of African American male workers is analyzed. Second, a trend in relative income from 1948 to 1964 is sought in order to verify the conclusion in the study that the 1950s were characterized by a decline in the African American and U.S. employees income ratio. Thus, the values of the income ratio of the employees from 1939 to 1964 are recorded. Assuming that the 1939 value accurately reflects the relative income of African American workers in the pre-World War II period, there appears to be a dramatic increase since that time. Hence, the analysis of the study suggests that the secular increase in the income ratio represents a decline in discrimination against African American workers. However, this decline may merely reflect the migration of the workers from the South to the less discriminating North rather than a decline in the U.S. propensity to discriminate.
- Published
- 1970
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