IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/11333.html

The divide-and-conquer and employer/employee models of discrimination: neoclassical competition as a familial defect

Author

Listed:
  • Mason, Patrick L.

Abstract

This article is an examination of the similarities between Michael Reich’s divide-and-conquer model of discrimination and the Becker-Arrow taste model of discrimination. It shows that Reich’s model of discrimination is analytically identical to Arrow’s employer discrimination model when employer utility is a function of total profits and the racial employment ratio. It also shows that the Becker-Arrow distinction between employer and employee discrimination is invalid. Finally, the author argues that neoclassical competition is the major defect of both models. After discussing the implications of these results the article points to new directions in the literature on the economics of discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Mason, Patrick L., 1992. "The divide-and-conquer and employer/employee models of discrimination: neoclassical competition as a familial defect," MPRA Paper 11333, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:11333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11333/1/MPRA_paper_11333.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Roemer, 1981. "Reply to England and Greene," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 75-75, January.
    2. Steven Shulman, 1987. "Discrimination, Human Capital, and Black-White Unemployment: Evidence from Cities," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(3), pages 361-376.
    3. Darity, William A, Jr & Williams, Rhonda M, 1985. "Peddlers Forever? Culture, Competition, and Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 256-261, May.
    4. Rhonda M. Williams, 1987. "Capital, Competition, and Discrimination: A Reconsideration of Racial Earnings Inequality," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, June.
    5. Marcus Alexis & Marshall Medoff, 1984. "Becker’s utility approach to discrimination: A review of the issues," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 41-58, March.
    6. Richard England & Michael Greene, 1981. "A Comment on John Roemer's Theory of Differentially Exploited Labor," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 71-74, January.
    7. Donald Harris, 1972. "The black ghetto as colony: A theoretical critique and alternative formulation," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 3-33, September.
    8. J.E. Roemer & John Roemer, 1978. "Differentially Exploited Labor: A Marxian Theory of Discrimination," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 10(2), pages 43-53, July.
    9. David Swinton, 1978. "A labor force competition model of racial discrimination in the labor market," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 5-42, September.
    10. John E. Roemer, 1979. "Divide and Conquer: Microfoundations of a Marxian Theory of Wage Discrimination," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(2), pages 695-705, Autumn.
    11. Joan Robinson, 1969. "The Economics of Imperfect Competition," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-15320-6, April.
    12. Samuel Bowles & Glenn C. Loury & Rajiv Sethi, 2014. "Group Inequality," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 129-152, February.
    13. Steven Shulman, 1990. "Racial inequality and white employment: An interpretation and test of the bargaining power hypothesis," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 5-20, December.
    14. Smith, James P & Welch, Finis R, 1989. "Black Economic Progress after Myrdal," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 519-564, June.
    15. Steven Shulman, 1990. "The Causes or Black Poverty: Evidence and Interpretation," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 995-1016, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. William M. Rodgers III, 1997. "Male Sub-metropolitan Black-White Wage Gaps: New Evidence for the 1980s," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(8), pages 1201-1213, July.
    2. Patrick L. Mason, 1993. "Accumulation, Segmentation and the Discriminatory Process in the Market for Labor Power," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 1-25, June.
    3. Mason, Patrick L., 1993. "Variable labor effort, involuntary unemployment, and effective demand," MPRA Paper 11331, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deborah Figart, 2001. "In pursuit of racial equality: The political economy of Rhonda M. Williams," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 28(4), pages 13-29, June.
    2. Price, Gregory N. & Darity Jr., William A. & Headen Jr., Alvin E., 2008. "Does the stigma of slavery explain the maltreatment of blacks by whites: The case of lynchings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 167-193, February.
    3. William A. Darity & Patrick L. Mason, 1998. "Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 63-90, Spring.
    4. William M. Rodgers III, 1997. "Male Sub-metropolitan Black-White Wage Gaps: New Evidence for the 1980s," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(8), pages 1201-1213, July.
    5. Patrick Mason, 2002. "The Janus face of race: Rhonda M. Williams on orthodox economic schizophrenia," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 63-75, March.
    6. François Combarnous, 1994. "Discrimination et marché du travail : concepts et théories," Documents de travail 02, Groupe d'Economie du Développement de l'Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV.
    7. Patrick L. Mason, 1993. "Accumulation, Segmentation and the Discriminatory Process in the Market for Labor Power," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 1-25, June.
    8. Aurelie Charles & Damiano Sguotti, 2021. "Sustainable Earnings: How Can Herd Behavior in Financial Accumulation Feed into a Resilient Economic System?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Louis Alessi, 1974. "Aneconomic analysis of government ownership and reculation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 1-42, September.
    10. Mohammed SHARIF, 2000. "Inverted “S”—The complete neoclassical labour-supply function," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 139(4), pages 409-435, December.
    11. Colleen M. Heflin & Mary E. Pattillo, 2002. "Crossing Class Boundaries: Race, Siblings and Socioeconomic Heterogeneity," JCPR Working Papers 252, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    12. Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico, 2017. "De jure and de facto determinants of power: evidence from Mississippi," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 321-345, December.
    13. Gordon B. Dahl & Matthew Knepper, 2023. "Age Discrimination across the Business Cycle," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 75-112, November.
    14. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2011. "Race v. Suffrage: The Determinants of Development in Mississippi," IZA Discussion Papers 6017, IZA Network @ LISER.
    15. Mark Hayes, 2016. "Trades unions, real wages and full employment," Working Papers PKWP1615, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    16. Donald Harris, 1972. "The black ghetto as colony: A theoretical critique and alternative formulation," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 3-33, September.
    17. Alireza Fallah & Michael I. Jordan & Ali Makhdoumi & Azarakhsh Malekian, 2024. "The Limits of Price Discrimination Under Privacy Constraints," Papers 2402.08223, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    18. Spencer, David A, 2000. "The Demise of Radical Political Economics? An Essay on the Evolution of a Theory of Capitalist Production," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 24(5), pages 543-564, September.
    19. Einer Elhauge & Barry Nalebuff, 2017. "The Welfare Effects of Metering Ties," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 33(1), pages 68-104.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:11333. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.