Racial Discrimination in the Job Market : The Role of Information and Search.

John McCall

ResearchPublished 1970

A theory of the value of discrimination in the job market as a function of the business cycle, based on elementary models of economic behavior in which, among other things, employer uncertainty about employee capacity to produce is incorporated. A favorable economic environment is assumed to induce employers to engage in hiring experiments, which, if they prove favorable, may eliminate race as a screening device when labor markets become less tight. If valid, the hypothesis implies that discrimination by employers--and by the nonwhite poor in their job search--is explicable on purely economic grounds and that a tight labor market could cause both groups to alter beliefs that give rise to discriminatory practices.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1970
  • Pages: 37
  • Document Number: RM-6162-OEO

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

McCall, John, Racial Discrimination in the Job Market : The Role of Information and Search. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1970. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM6162.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND research memorandum series. The research memorandum series, a product of RAND from 1948 to 1973, included working papers meant to report current results of RAND research to appropriate audiences.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.