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Productivity, Discrimination, and Lost Profits During Baseball's Integration

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  • Lanning, Jonathan A.

Abstract

This article uses data from Major League Baseball's integration to identify the sources and magnitude of labor market discrimination. Returns to hiring black workers in this industry were high, and the industry's labor supply was uniquely suited for rapid integration, yet integration evolved slowly. Many explanations for this sluggishness are considered, including both taste-based and statistical discrimination. Ultimately, only owner and collective coworker discrimination can explain baseball's slow pace of integration. The estimated levels of discrimination are high, showing the median team sacrificed profits of nearly $2.2 million in 1950 dollars (over $19 million 2010 dollars) by delaying integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Lanning, Jonathan A., 2010. "Productivity, Discrimination, and Lost Profits During Baseball's Integration," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(4), pages 964-988, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:70:y:2010:i:04:p:964-988_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Aaron D. Hill & Federico Aime & Jason W. Ridge, 2017. "The performance implications of resource and pay dispersion: The case of Major League Baseball," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(9), pages 1935-1947, September.
    2. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner La Croix, 2016. "Integration Of North And South American Players In Japan'S Professional Baseball Leagues," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1107-1130, August.
    3. Sanghoon Lee, 2021. "Social Tolerance and Economic Development," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 1087-1103, December.
    4. Ryan H Murphy, 2023. "The clear expectation of cultural betterment in the face of rising living standards," Rationality and Society, , vol. 35(3), pages 338-365, August.
    5. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner La Croix, 2011. "Integration of North and South American Players in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues Teams in Japan’s two professional baseball leagues began to add foreign players to their rosters in the early 1," Working Papers 2011-14, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    6. Francesca Cornaglia & Naomi E. Feldman, 2011. "Productivity, Wages and Marriage: The Case of Major League Baseball," CEP Discussion Papers dp1081, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Brunello, Giorgio & Yamamura, Eiji, 2023. "Desperately Seeking a Japanese Yokozuna," IZA Discussion Papers 16536, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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