Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book investigates the effects that local labor market conditions may have on the economic status of women and blacks, relative to their white male counterparts. More precisely, it examines the impact that local labor market conditions have on estimates of labor market discrimination against women and blacks. The two forms of labor market discrimination investigated in the book are: wage discrimination paying equally productive workers different wages on the basis of considerations not related to productivity, and occupational discrimination assigning workers to different jobs on the basis of nonproductivity related factors. If policy makers focus their attention on an aggregate figure, such as the national unemployment rate, as a measure of labor market performance, they may overlook the effects that local unemployment rates (and other characteristics) have on the relative earnings and occupational position of women and minorities.