14.662 S15 Labor Economics II Lecture 19

We observe systematic differences in labor market outcomes across men and women, and across racial groups. While a variety of models we have covered so far in 14.661 and 14.662 could in theory fully explain these differences, economists have long focused attention on the idea that genderor race-based discrimination may be another empirically relevant explanation. While attention often focuses on gaps in employment rates and wages, differences are also often observed in other measures as well such as occupation, non-wage compensation, job characteristics, and job mobility. Two excellent review articles on the economics of discrimination are the Altonji and Blank (1999) Handbook of Labor Economics chapter and more recently a Journal of Economic Literature review by Lang and Lehmann (2012). I will draw on both in structuring today’s lecture.