Can Prejudice Explain the Racial Wage Gap?

Daniel Seiver, Miami University

Using 1990 census data, human capital regressions and Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions show a distinctive regional pattern of racial wage gaps, with Northern divisions showing small or even negative wage gaps, and Southern divisions showing large wage gaps between white and black full-time year-round employed women. Regional data from NORC survey questions measuring racial prejudice show high correlations (0.7-0.85) with these patterns of wage gaps, leading to the conclusion that discrimination does play a key role in wage differences by race.