Contractionary Monetary Policy and the Dynamics of U.S. Race and Gender Stratification

This paper explores the distributional effects of contractionary monetary policy by race and gender in the U.S. from 1979-2008 using state-level panel data. We hypothesize that women and Blacks, as groups with less power and lower status in the social hierarchy, fare worse in the competition over jobs, resulting in a disproportionate rise in female and Black unemployment rates relative to White males. We also investigate the possibility that Blacks bear a greater burden of joblessness than females as Black population density rises. Results indicate the costs of fighting inflation are unevenly distributed amongst workers, weighing more heavily on Black females and Black males, followed by White females, and lastly, White males.