ABSTRACT
Building on the social structures of accumulation (SSA) model, this chapter introduces an ancillary model, the social structures of insulation, which also focuses on the safety netlabor market-macroeconomy nexus. The theory of social structures of accumulation points to a method for understanding the relationship between the macro economy and labor market outcomes, which can be extended to an understanding of the relationship between macroeconomic performance and discrimination. Discrimination in the labor market is a continually pressing concern in the United States. A key factor framing the analysis of labor market dynamics and macroeconomy in the SSA approach is the cost of job loss. The chapter argues that gender and race play important roles in the determination of wages and employment. Social policy has a role both in reinforcing or eradicating discrimination and in providing insulation from unemployment. The variance in the relative degrees of insulation from actual or threatened unemployment leads to differences in wages for groups of workers. .
