Discrimination, technology and unemployment

B-Tier
Journal: Labour Economics
Year: 2012
Volume: 19
Issue: 4
Pages: 557-567

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

I study the interaction between discrimination and investment using a directed search model where firms decide the capital intensity of their production technologies before being matched. Discrimination makes some workers cheap to hire. As a consequence, some firms might save on capital costs adopting labour intensive technologies. This framework allows one to reconcile search models with three well-known facts regarding the labour market outcomes of minority workers: low wages, high unemployment and occupational segregation. Furthermore, the model questions the role of equal pay legislation in reducing inequality since removing this restriction, i.e., allowing firms to post type-contingent wages, eliminates the negative effects of discrimination on investment and wages.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:labeco:v:19:y:2012:i:4:p:557-567
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-26