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The Labor Market and Young Black Men: Updating Moynihan's Perspective

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  • Harry J. Holzer

    (Georgetown University)

Abstract

This article reviews Daniel Patrick Moynihan's views on employment and young black men in his 1965 report. The author then updates the evidence on their employment status and reviews the causes and policy implications of these trends. Moynihan was extremely insightful and even prescient in arguing that the employment situation of young black men was a “crisis . . . that would only grow worse.†He understood that these trends involve both limits on labor market opportunities that these young men face as well as skill deficits of and behavioral responses by the young men themselves. Policies that deal with a wide range of disadvantages and behaviors are needed to reverse these trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Harry J. Holzer, 2009. "The Labor Market and Young Black Men: Updating Moynihan's Perspective," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 621(1), pages 47-69, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:621:y:2009:i:1:p:47-69
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716208324627
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    References listed on IDEAS

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