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Has Salary Discrimination Really Disappeared From Major League Baseball?

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew C. Palmer

    (The Ohio State University)

  • Randall H. King

    (Department of Economics, University of Akron)

Abstract

Analysis of a detailed data set for the 2000-2001 period shows no evidence of overall racial or ethnic salary discrimination for baseball players. Given prior research, that finding is not unusual. However, when the data set is divided into low, middle, and high salary ranges, a RESST test shows that minorities in the lowest salary group receive significantly lower returns to their skills than do whites. A decomposition of the wage differences for the lowest salary group shows that as much as 86.3% of the black/white and 91.5% of the Hispanic/white salary gap may be due to discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew C. Palmer & Randall H. King, 2006. "Has Salary Discrimination Really Disappeared From Major League Baseball?," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(2), pages 285-297, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:32:y:2006:i:2:p:285-297
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    File URL: http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/Volume32/V32N2P285_297.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Johnny Ducking & Peter A. Groothuis, 2023. "Positional Segregation and Career Length in Major League Baseball in the 1990s," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 149-159, September.
    2. Jeff Hamrick & John Rasp, 2015. "The Connection Between Race and Called Strikes and Balls," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(7), pages 714-734, October.
    3. Johnny Ducking & Peter Groothuis & James Hill, 2015. "Exit Discrimination in the NFL: A Duration Analysis of Career Length," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 285-299, September.
    4. Holmes, Paul, 2011. "New evidence of salary discrimination in major league baseball," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 320-331, June.
    5. Christopher Jepsen & Lisa Jepsen & Trevor Draisey & Josh Mahoney, 2021. "Race and National Football League Player Salaries After Controlling for Fantasy Statistics and Arrests," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 359-386, May.
    6. Roberto Pedace & Curtis M. Hall, 2012. "Home Safe: No-Trade Clauses and Player Salaries in Major League Baseball," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 627-644, July.

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