Labor Discrimination in US Economy

Table of Contents Research Methods and Techniques Research Findings Interpretations of the Findings Biasness Recommendations Evidence for Wage Discrimination Works Cited Bertrand and Mullainathan conducted a research on labor discrimination in the US economy. The objective of the researchers was to determine the relationship between racial discrimination and the rate of employment in the US economy. Thus the main question that they tried to address was, â€Å"what is the influence of race in determining the chances of getting a job in the US labor market?†Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labor Discrimination in US Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research on the employment trends in the US labor market reveals a high level of racial inequality (Bertrand and Mullainathan 991). Members of different races have different opportunities of getting employed. Job applicants of White origin have a bette r chance of getting jobs as compared to African-Americans. The Whites were found â€Å"to be twice unlikely to be unemployed as compared to African-Americans† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 992). The research findings also indicate that African-Americans were â€Å"paid 25% less on average when they are employed in various job categories† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 992). The findings were consistent across all industries. Consequently, various stakeholders in the industry are interested in finding out the causes of the huge gap in employment between the Whites and the African-Americans in the market. It is against this backdrop that the researches investigated the effect of race in determining the chances of getting employed. The findings will help in formulating labor laws that can help in ensuring equality in the market. Equality will lead to efficiency in the market by enhancing perfect mobility of labor. Research Methods and Techniques The researchers used field experi ments to study the research question (Bertrand and Mullainathan 993). The field experiment involved correspondence testing (Bertrand and Mullainathan 993). This means that the researches were interested in finding out the rate at which the employers responded to the resumes that were sent by different races in response to job adverts. Thus the callback rate was the main variable that was measured in the study. The research was done in Chicago and Boston (Bertrand and Mullainathan 993). The research was designed as follows. The researchers prepared several resumes and assigned names to them randomly. Half of the resumes had African-America names and the other half had names that are associated with Whites. The use of different names was meant to â€Å"manipulate the perceived race† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 994). The fictitious resumes were then sent in response to various job adverts in Chicago and Boston (Bertrand and Mullainathan 994). The researchers prepared over five th ousand resumes and responded to over one thousand three hundred job adverts (Bertrand and Mullainathan 994).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The large number of resumes helped in improving the accuracy of the findings since a large sample size is more representative. The resumes were divided into two categories namely, the high-quality and the low-quality resumes. The high-quality resumes were associated with applicants with high qualifications while low-quality resumes were associated with applicants who had low qualification. The high-quality and low-quality resumes were assigned an equal number of names for Whites and African-Americans. The feedbacks that were received in relation to the applications served as the primary data for the research. The data was statistically analyzed and was used to investigate the relationship between race and the chances of getting a job in Boston and Chicago. Research Findings The findings of the research were as follows. There was a great difference in the number of callbacks that were received for the resumes that had various racial names. The applicants that were associated with Whites’ names received one call for every ten resumes that they sent (Bertrand and Mullainathan 995). Those who had African-Americans’ names received one call for every fifteen resumes that they sent. This indicated a 50% gap in the number of calls that were received by the various races. â€Å"The difference was found to be statistically significant† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 995). The research also reveals that race influenced the way employers rewarded the applicants for having better resumes. Whites who had high-quality resumes were able to increase their chances of getting a job by 30 % as compared to the Whites whose resumes were of low-quality (Bertrand and Mullainathan 995). However, for the African-Americans possessing a high-quality resume did not significantly increase the chances of getting a job as compared to African-Americans who had low-quality resumes. This means that the skills that were possessed by the African-Americans had little effect in improving their chances of being employed. Employers preferred to hire White applicants who lived in â€Å"wealthy neighborhoods or neighborhoods that were associated with high levels of education† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 996). However, the African-Americans who lived in the same neighborhood (wealthy) did not have a better chance of being employed as compared to their colleagues who lived in low-class neighborhoods. There was no correlation between the racial gaps that existed in various industry and the census-based racial gaps (Bertrand and Mullainathan 996). The racial gaps as measured by callback rates were â€Å"statically significant in all industries and job categories that were covered in the research† (Bertrand a nd Mullainathan 996).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labor Discrimination in US Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the context of taste theory of discrimination, the researchers explained that their findings indicated that the employers preferred to employ Whites as compared to African-Americans. This means that the employers associated the Whites with superior qualities as compared to the African-Americans. The employers’ preference for the Whites was based on the perception that Whites are a better race as compared to African-Americans. This explains why the possession of high-quality resumes did not improve the chances of getting a job among the African-Americans. In the context of statistical discrimination theory, the employers associated the Whites with high productivity as compared to the African-Americans. Since the employers are not risk takers they prefer to employ Whites who will guar antee them high productivity in exchange of high wage rates. This explains the difference in the wage rate between Whites and the African-Americans. Interpretations of the Findings The resumes that were assigned names that are associated with Whites had a chance of 9.65% of getting a callback (Bertrand and Mullainathan 997). Resumes that had similar qualifications but had names that are associated with African-Americans had 6.5% chance of getting a callback. This indicates a 50% difference in the callback rate (Bertrand and Mullainathan 997). The difference was considered to be statistically significant (Bertrand and Mullainathan 997). The Whites who possessed high-quality resumes were able to increase their chances of getting a job by 27%. On the other hand, the African-Americans who possessed high-quality resumes were able to increase their chances of getting a job by only 6.7%. This difference was also found to be statistically significant. Thus they concluded that race was used as a discrimination factor in employment. Biasness The authors were unbiased due to the following reasons. First, the number of resumes that had names that are associated with Whites was equal to the number of those that had names that are associated with African-Americans. This means that both races had an equal opportunity of being employed. Second, the sample size was large enough to represent the population. Thus the conclusions that were made using the research’s findings are unbiased. Finally, the researchers took into account the effects of demographic factors such as sex, age and residential areas (Bertrand and Mullainathan 1000). Recommendations The conclusion that employers â€Å"inferred social class from names† (Bertrand and Mullainathan 997), was based on opinion rather than empirical evidence. The researchers did not use primary data to statistically investigate the relationship between names and employers’ perception of social classes.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Their conclusion was based on the belief that African-Americans belong to the lower social class in the society. The conclusion also contradicts the fact that living in wealthier neighborhoods did not increase the chances of getting jobs among the African-Americans. Therefore, the researchers should have conducted an investigation in order to determine the relationship between the names and the employers’ perception of social class. For example, interviews or surveys could have been used to obtain information concerning employers’ perception of social class and how it affected their choice of employees. Evidence for Wage Discrimination The findings of the research are consistent with the trends in the US labor market. It is evident that the Whites are paid better as compared to African-Americans who possess the same level of qualification. Employees from the two races are usually paid different wages even if they work in the same position. The research indicated that t he African-Americans did not improve their chances of getting a job by possessing a high-quality resume (Bertrand and Mullainathan 997). This confirms the fact that race plays an important role in determining the chances of getting a job in the US labor market. Works Cited Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainathan. â€Å"Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? a field experiment on labor market discrimination.† American Economic Review, 94 (2004): 991-1013. This essay on Labor Discrimination in US Economy was written and submitted by user Emily Stevens to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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buy custom Why We Commit Crime essay Why do people commit crime? According to Thomas (2011), this is a question that is often not asked even by many policy makers. He noted that in contrary, crime and terror has been increasing posing a lot of insecurity challenges all over the world. According to Thomas (2011), various governments are currently spending the better part of their budget on measures aimed at combating crime. New laws are enacted every year in various nations against the actions of crimes while at the same time new laws are passed in an attempt to combat crimes and criminals. Thomas (2011) emphasizes that it must be noted that people are never criminals at birth. He asserts that there could certainly be various circumstances and needs that help in the making of a criminal (Thomas, 2011). There are numerous causes of crime that have been identified ranging from poverty to those factors that are intrinsic within the individuals. Theoretically criminologists, sociologists and psychologist have come up with various theories in an attempt to explain why people commit crime (Thomas, 2011). These theories have attributed this trend to different factors depending of the discipline. In utilizing the relevant theories and integrating them with relevant causal factors, this study will try to answer the question Why do we commit crime? Community and Crime According to Thomas (2011), the role of community is determining criminal activities can be explained both theoretically and critically. However, any of the two concentrates its efforts in examining the opportunities a given community avails in an attempt to enable its members achieve their goals in life (Thomas, 2011). Important to the analysis is also the amount of pressure put by the community on the need for the realization of such dreams. Thomas (2011) notes that the rates of crime is normally higher in the communities which tend to present there members with unequal opportunities. According to him, such a system will automatically deny some individuals a chance to achieve their goals through legitimate means. These groups of individuals are normally forced to pursue their goals through illegal methods to meet the demands placed on them by the same community. Thomas (2011) concludes that as much as the society will still present different opportunity to its members, criminal beh aviors will never be eliminated. According to Thomas (2011), another way in which the community may breed violence is associated with the way in which it controls the handling of such technologies as handguns. Easy access to such lethal technologies in a community may make its members easily resort to violence as a means of solving problems. Thomas (2011) reports a study which showed that in U.S. alone, 333,000 among the 400,000 violent crimes in 1998 were committed using firearms. According this study, firearms related deaths rose to be the eighth in the United States. Thomas (2011) reported another case study in which the issue of unequal opportunities was much evidenced. The study was carried out on inmates in the U.S prisons in 1990s. The researched revealed that the majority of the prisoners had very low education levels. This was also reflected in the kind of crimes that they had committed. The crimes included: robbery, burglary, and automobile theft, drug trafficking, and shoplifting (Thomas, 2011). Asked why they had involved themselves in such criminal activities, most of the prisoners indicated that their low level of education could not allow them to secure well rewarding employment positions. Thomas (2011) emphasizes that lack of employment and provision of any employment below living wage does not help deter criminal activity. According to him, it only put people in a situation where they have to make a decision to either continue in their low income levels or join criminal activities. Theoretical Explanations There are a number of theories that linked crime to the action of the larger communities. According to the rational theorists, before one involves himself in any criminal act, he or she must reason rationally. Grant noted that every individual has their interest which they seek to accomplish through legitimate means (Grant, 2006). This position is supported by the strain theorists who explain that in any given community people have similar goals and aspirations. However, the community does not present its members with similar opportunities. According to Grant (2006), whenever the community fails to present these opportunities to its members, it is a usual phenomenon to find members resorting to criminal ways of achieving their goals. In such cases the need to satisfy ones interest supersedes the potential risks from committing crime (Grant, 2006). On the other hand the social organization theory explains that every behavioral choices made by the individuals are explained by ones immediate physical and social environments (Grant, 2006). According to these theorists, a society with loose social structures will most likely experience high rate of crime. Discussing this theory Grant (2006) sites factors relating to poor planning such as failing to demolish vacant and vandalized buildings and mixing of both commercial and residential houses as the factors that may fuel criminality in a place. The same thought is shared by the routine activities theorists who propose that the probability for one to commit crime is also directly related to the available opportunities to commit crime within a given community. According to Grant (2006), crime rates will always be high in communities with unorganized and unsupervised activities. Third is the social learning theory. This theory takes into account the way people associate with one another in its explanation of crime (Grant, 2006). That both the vigor and the skills of committing crime are developed form the individuals that one associate with. Forth is the social control theory which attributes the probability of crime commitment to the measure of control that is placed upon the individuals by the larger society. The theorists hold that societies whose social institutions have loose structures and lack well defined laws will experience high rate of crime (Grant, 2006). Another societal cause of crme is related to actions like stereotyping and labeling of individuals as criminals (Grant, 2006). This is mostly done or perpetrated by the community leaders whose positions in the society allows them to decide which acts can be considered as a crime. Studies by psychologists have indicated that the individuals who are labeled criminals in most cases turn out to be thus. This holds true because once a person is labeled a criminal, he is always denied his legitimate opportunities of achieving goals by the same community which demands prosperity from him (Grant, 2006). Media and Violence Several studies have linked both the video game violence, the television based movies and the print media to the increasing rate of crime. Surrette (2011) notes that even the simple childrens cartoonist and fantasies have been linked to the increasing aggression in children. According to Surrette (2011), such simple plays done repeatedly may breed violence in children. Studies have also found out a close link between video games and the todays increasing rates of bullying in the learning institutions. According to Surrette (2011), video game violence makes it easy for children to learn violence. He noted that the confirmation of the same by the FBI in its 2000 report when it listed violent video games among the activities that are closely linked to the shootings experienced in the learning institutions. Surrette (2011) noted the strong link between media game violence and increased aggression among todays younger generation. It has been a common phenomenon to find cases where violent video game players confess to have literally resorted to violence based methods as the means of achieving their dreams. Surrette (2011) also notes that it is always a hard task for the players of video game violence to forgive others whenever a dispute occurs especially when they were on the right. In addition, he noted that those who developed aggression from playing this game may totally loose their sense of apathy. According to Surrette (2011), it is also common among the video game players to want to display their strength leading to increased desire to involve themselves in violent related activities. The affected always find themselves reacting in a violent manner even without considering the risks involved. Study by Professor Eron of the University of Michigan also concluded that there is high probability of the boys who watched television crime to try committing the same crimes during their latter stages of life (Surrette, 2011). The study on the effect of crime images in the media by the Professor Brandon Centerwall of the University of Washington also revealed the same findings. It covered the first eight years after a wide scale introduction of TV in California. The study found out that there was an unusual increase in the rate of the reported murder cases in North America during this time. The same was confirmed during his second study in South Africa. According to Surrette (2011), these findings are still applicable as the images in the media still has the potential of making one to resort to being a life long criminal. Medias strong influence to criminology is also explained by the way it dramatizes crime. In most cases, the criminals in video game violence always end up receiving the glory. This acts of media points towards normalizing crime. Another aspect of the media which makes it risky is the king of publicity that it gives to the criminals. Studies have shown that the impression it creates has lured many young people into committing crime (Surrette, 2011). Similarly, the improvement in the field of communication has also ease the coordination of criminal activities. An example is the internet which has greatly enabled the criminals to find and share the information among themselves and also to influence new peers into their activities. Surrette (2011) noted that over the years, the rate of cyber crime has been on the increase especially among the middle and high school students. Some of the highly committed cyber related crimes today include digital piracy, pornography and online bullying (Surrette, 2011). Peer Pressure and Crime According to various studies presented by Smith and his colleagues (2009), there is a link between the kind of friends one has and the probability that he or she will be involved in criminal activities. They noted that effect of Peer pressure is largely felt among the children and the adolescents. According to their findings, most often, children and youths burn with desire to experiment what their fellow age mates are doing. This has led to an increasing number of youths beginning to take alcoholics and drugs. Through their interaction with other criminals, the newly deviant individuals also graduate into involving themselves in more complex activities (Smith et al, 2009). Smith (2009) comments that it is ironical that the often preferred treatment to deviant/criminal behaviors in majority of states is to put them together in some facility. According to Smith, criminality is common among certain adolescent groups and placing them together would worsen the situation. Smith (2009) further notes that there is also a link between exposure to criminal peers and increase in ones involvement in diverse delinquent behaviors. He explored a number of evidences to show that deviant peer influence is largely responsible for both the initiation and worsening of delinquency. According to Smith (2009), another issue that presents peers with an opportunity to advance in criminal activities is their segregation from the normal population. He faulted the initial researches done to determine the best developmental measures on deviant behavior. The researchers had recommended segregating these individuals. However, according to Smith and his colleagues (2009), the contributions of such measures are always offset by the influence the criminal peers have on one another. Their study also found out that putting deviant peers together greatly increases their likelihood of delinquency. Smith (2009) found out that the influence of peers was also rampant among the children. Another way in which the coommunity punishes criminal activities especially in the educational settings is suspension and expulsion. According to Smith and Colleagues (2009), these measures too have been proved to be more detrimental to the very children who are purported to be helped. When these suspended students are sent back from the learning institutions into the community, they meet and influence one another even to worse states than they were before. According to Smith and his colleagues (2009), the best option would be to leave the students in school settings. This would enable them to be exposed to and perhaps learn from their conforming schoolmates. They concluded that because of the considerable evidence, it should never be recommended for the society to continue with its policies of detaining juvenile offenders. This would expose the offenders to deviant peers while minimizing their interaction with the adult role models and their reformed peers. Cultural Values and Crime Both norms and values aspects of cultures relate directly to the rate of crime that is witness. According to Abril (2011), these two aspects of culture affect what a given culture perceives as a crime and the seriousness with which it is taken. He reports various findings to show that the rate of crime is relatively low in cultures which practice collectivism compared to those which practice individualism. Abril (2011) noted that every culture perceives crime differently. Certain communities have their own tribal laws and respond collectively to criminal activities. Such arrangements enable the members of a given culture to internalize and practice the community laws. The cultures which stress on community involvement normally experience lesser crime cases compared to the culture in which individuality is stressed (Abril, 2011). Within the larger culture, there are also the subcultures which may have totally different norms and values from those of the mainstream culture. According to Abril (2011), any attempt to explain the criminal activities in such sub-cultures must seek to analyze the discrepancy that exists between the norms and values of the mainstream culture and those of the specific sub culture. According to Walter Millers theory of Focal Concerns, criminal behaviors of a given small subculture, say gangs, can be described in terms of values and norms of the subculture (Abril, 2011). Walter Miller studied the gang subculture. According to him this group stresses on physical prowess, smartness in conning others, ability to take risk, fate and autonomy. He explained that any member of such sub-cultures must seek to direct their behavior towards living up to these values (Abril, 2011). To such a group being involved in crime is an indication of their autonomy and an opportunity for excitement. Abril (2011) concluded that the greater the discrepancies between the dominant cultures values and the subcultures values the more will be the opportunity of norm violating behavior. Theoretical Explanation Equally, there are theories which seek to explain criminality on the basis of the values and norms practiced by the cultures to which people belong. According to the theory of differential association, even the way in which a given culture defines what a crime is has the potential of making its members to engage in criminal activities (Grant, 2006). Grant explains that such definitions are leant by members from their social groups. Some individuals have therefore committed criminal acts based on the fact that their larger groups were not categorizing such acts as crimes. Grant (2006) reports that crime rate is normally high among social groups with loose definitions of what is considered as a crime (Grant, 2006). Sports (Athletics) and Crime According to the published reports by Valen, there is always one incident of crime involving an athlete in every two days (Valen, 2009). Domestic violence is the most common crime among the athletes. Benedict carried out a study focusing on the rates of sexual assaults reported from thirty major Division I Universities within the U.S. His report showed that one in every three sexual assault cases reported was committed by an athlete. Through the three year study, it was revealed that even though athlete students only constituted 3.3% of the entire college population, they were responsible for 19% of all the sexual assaults committed during this duration. At the same time their involvement in domestic violence related crimes remained high at 35% (Valen, 2009). Another study carried out in Georgetown yielded the same results. According to the study, the number student athletes were only 11 percent of the total population of the undergraduates within the town (Valen, 2009). Astonishingly, their rate of involvement in and being charged with violent assaults was more than twice that of the overall student population. Valen (2009) explains that even though many of the athletes are charged with crime, their charges were being freed every time. The study revealed that the conviction rate of athletes was as low as 38%. This can not be compared to that of the general population which still remains at around 80%. To Valen, these are some of the reasons for high involvement of athletes in crime. Some experts have also attributed the high rate of crime commission by the athletes to their aggressiveness. According to Valen (2009), the athletes also seem live in their own world with the huge salaries and free scholarships that they receive. Most of them see themselves as special and are determined to achieve their goals by whatever means. This has made most of the athletes to believe that the rules and laws which guide the conduct of the rest of the population are not applicable to them. Conclusion In conclusion, the factors such as media, does not directly cause crime by themselves. In order for the governments to successfully address the issue of criminality, thorough research on the operations of the society is required. Any of such research carried out in future should lead to changes in certain policies as well as seeking to involve the community at all levels. Buy custom Why We Commit Crime essay