Making the Effort: The Contours of Racial Discrimination in Detroit’s Labor Markets, 1920–1940

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 1995
Volume: 55
Issue: 3
Pages: 465-493

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

In 1940 the Ford Motor Company employed half of the black men in Detroit but only 14 percent of the whites. We find that black Detroiters were concentrated at Ford because they were excluded from working elsewhere. Those most affected were young married black men. A Ford job was virtually the only opportunity they had to earn a family wage; but to keep it, they had to put out the extra effort that Ford required. White married men in Detroit had better employment opportunities elsewhere, so they tended to avoid Ford or leave very quickly.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:55:y:1995:i:03:p:465-493_04
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25