College of William and Mary            Bill Rodgers
Department of Economics                       Morton 115
Spring Term 1995                       221-2398
Economics 400, Section 3                      T/Th 12:30-1:50 pm

Afro-American Experience in the American Economy


         Seminar participants explore the labor market experience of
African-Americans in the South from reconstruction to World War II.  This
leads to an in-depth analysis of the causes and economic implications of
African-American migration from the rural South to large metropolitan
areas, particularly those in the North and Midwest.  The seminar concludes
with an examination of the effects of racial discrimination in private
labor and housing markets and differences in the provision of local
government services on the welfare of African-Americans and households.
We critically explore the effectiveness of affirmative action and fair
housing programs.

The course requirements and their contribution to your grade are the following:

a.       Problem Sets (4): 20%.

b.       Final Exam:  35%.

c.       2-3 page paper prospectus:  5%.  See description at end of syllabus.

d.       15-20 page empirical paper:  30%.  See description at end of syllabus.

e.  Class participation:  10%.  The reading list contains the required
readings.  Starting with the section on Labor Market Discrimination and
Affirmative Action, seminar participants will regularly lead class
discussions.  The class participation portion of your grade also includes
the quality of comments that you provide classmates when you evaluate
their drafts of writing assignments.

General References:  Assignments from the following books listed below
appear at two or more points on the reading list.  they are cited using
the abbreviated citations given in parentheses.  They may be purchased at
the college bookstore and are on reserve at the library.  I highly
recommend that you purchase the first four books.

Jencks, Christopher and Paul E. Peterson. (1991). The Urban Underclass.
Washington, D.C.:  The Brookings Institution.  (Jencks and Peterson.
(1991).  The Urban Underclass).

Lemann, Nicholas. (1992).  The Promised Land:  The Great Black Migration
and How it Changed America.  New York:  Vantage Books.  (Lemann, The
Promised Land).

Mandle, Jay R. (1992).  Not Slave, Not Free:  The African American
Economic Experience Since the civil War.  Durham and London:  Duke
University Press.

Wilson, William Julius. (1987).  The Truly Disadvantaged:  The Inner City,
The Underclass, and Public Policy, Chicago:  The University of Chicago
Press. (Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged).

Wright, Gavin. (1986).  Old South, New South:  Revolutions in the Southern
Economy since the Civil War.  New York:  Basic Books. Margo Robert.
(1990). Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950:  An Economic History.
Chicago:  University of Chicago Press. (Margo, Race and Schooling).

Peterson, George E. and Wayne Vroman. (1992).  Urban Labor Markets and Job
Opportunity. Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute Press. (Peterson and
Vroman, Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunity).

Turner, Margery Austin, Michael Fix, and Raymond J. Struyk. (1991).
œOpportunities Denied, Opportunities Diminished:  Racial Discrimination in
Hiring.œ Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute Press, Report 91-9.

DISCUSSION TOPIC

Life in the South after Reconstruction

Mandle, Jay R. (1992).  Not Slave, Not Free:  The African American
Economic Experience Since the Civil War.  Durham and London:  Duke
University Press: Chaps. 1-5.

Margo, Race and Schooling:  87-108.

Wright, Gavin. (1986).  Old South, New South: Revolutions in the he
Southern Economy since the Civil War.  New York:  Basic Books:  Chaps.
3-7.

Margo, Robert. (1990).  Race and Schooling in the South, 1880-1950:  An
Economic History.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press. (Margo, Race and
Schooling).

Peterson, George E. and Wayne Vroman. (1992). Urban Labor Markets and Job
Opportunity.  Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute Press. (Peterson and
Vroman, Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunity).

Turner, Margery Austin, Michael Fix, and Raymond J. Struyk. (1991).
œOpportunities Denied, Opportunities Diminished:  Racial Discrimination in
Hiring.œ Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute Press, Report 91-9.

DISCUSSION TOPIC

Life in the South after Reconstruction

Mandle, Jay R. (1992). Not Slave, Not Free: The African American Economic
Experience Since the Civil War. Durham and London: Duke University Press:
Chaps. 1-5.

Margo, Race and Schooling:  87-108.

Wright, Gavin. (1986). Old South, New South: Revolutions in the Southern
Economy since the Civil War New York:  Basic Books:  Chaps. 3-7.

Southern Education and Black Earnings

Margo, Race and Schooling:  1-51.

Migration to the North

Lemann, Nicholas. (1992). The Promised Land:  The Great Black Migration
and How it Changed America.  New York:  Vantage Books:  3-358.

Margo, Race and Schooling:  109-128.

Trends in Black-White Income Ratios

Farley, Reynolds. (1984).  Black and Whites: Narrowing the Gap.
Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press:  Chaps. 3-5.

Smith, James and Finis Welch.  (1989).  œBlack Economic Progress After
Myrdal,œ Journal of Economic Literature 27 (June):  519-64.

Assessing Black-White Earnings Differentials:  Pre 1980

Jaynes, Gerald D. (1990).  œThe Labor Market Status of Black Americans:
1939-1985,œ Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 4, No. 4 (Fall):  9-24.

OœNeill, June. (1990).  œThe Role of Human Capital in Earnings Differences
Between Black and White Men,œ Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 4,
No. 4 (Fall):  25-45.

Assessing Black-White Earnings Differentials:  Post 1980

Bound, John and Richard B. Freeman. (1992).  œWhat Went Wrong?  The
Erosion of Relative Earnings and Employment Among Young Black Men in the
1980s,œ The Quarterly Journal of Economics, CVII, 1 (February):  201-232.

Cotton, Jeremiah. (1989).  œOpening the Gap:  The Decline in Black
Economic Indicators in the 1980s,œ Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 70, No.
4 (December):  803-819.

Neal, Derek, and Johnson, William R., œThe Role of Pre-Market Factors in
Black-White Differences,œ Unpublished paper, University of Chicago and
University of Virginia (April, 1994).

Labor Market Discrimination and Affirmative Action

Heckman, James J. and B. Payner, œDetermining the Impact of Federal Anti
discrimination Policy on the Status of Blacks:  A Study of South
Carolina,œ The American Economic Review 79:  138-77.

Turner, Margery Austin, Michael Fix, and Raymond J. Struyk. (1991).
Opportunities Denied, Opportunities Diminished:  Racial Discrimination in
Hiring.œ Washington, DC:  The Urban Institute Press, Report 91-9.

Leonard, Jonathan S. œThe Impact of Affirmative Action Regulation and
Equal Employment Law on Black Employment,œ Journal of Economic
Perspectives, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Fall):  47-63.

Rodgers, William M., œRacial Differences in Employment Shares:  New
Evidence from the EEO-1 Files,œ Civil Rights and Race Relations in the
Post Reagan-Bush Era, Edited by Samuel L. Myers, Jr., Forthcoming, Fall,
1995.

Loury, Glenn C. (1992).  œIncentive Effects of Affirmative Action,œ
Annals, 523, (September):  19-29. (H1A4)

Conrad, Cecilia A. œThe Economic Cost of Affirmative Action:  A Review of
the Evidence,œ Unpublished Paper, Barnard College, May, 1994.


Making of the Ghetto

Lemann, The Promised Land  61-107, 225-305.

(Read/skim any one of the following four books)

Drake, S. and H.R. Clayton. (1970).  Black Metropolis:  A Study of Negro
Life in a Northern City, Vol. 1. (Rev. ed.) New York:  Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.

Kusner, Kenneth L. (1976).  A Ghetto Takes Shape:  Black Cleveland,
1879-1930.  Urbana:  University of Illinois Press.

Spear, Allan H. (19œ6).  Black Chicago:  The Making of a Negro Ghetto,
1890-1920:  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press.

Osofsky, Wilson, William Julius. (1991).  Gilbert. (1971).  Harlem:  The
Making of a Ghetto:  Negro New York, 1890-1930.  New York:  Harper
Torchbooks.

Racial and Ethnic Segregation in Urban Housing Markets

Farley, Reynolds. (1991).  œResidential Segregation of Social and Economic
Groups among Blacks, 1970- 1989,œ in Jencks and Peterson, The Urban
Underclass:  274-298.

Taeuber, Karl E. and Alma F. Taeuber. (1964).  œThe Negro as an Immigrant
Group:  Recent Trends in racial and Ethnic Segregation in Chicago,œ The
American Journal of Sociology, 69, No. 4(January):  374-82.

Massey, Douglas S. and Mitchell L. Eggers. (1990).  œThe Ecology of
Inequality:  Minorities and the Concentration of Poverty 1970-1980,œ The
American Journal of Sociology, 95:  1153-1188.

Black and White Preferences

Sheatsley, Paul B., œWhite Attitudes Toward the Negro,œ Race and Poverty:
128-138.

Schuman, Howard, Charlotte Steeh, and Lawrence Bobo. (1985) Racial
Attitudes in America:  Trends and Interpretations.  Cambridge:  Harvard
University Press (E185.615 S293).

Theoretical Explanations of Housing Market Discrimination

Bailey, Martin J. (1959).  œA Note on the Economics of Residential Zoning
and Urban Renewal,œ Land Economics 35: 288-292.

Courant, Paul N. (1978). œRacial Prejudice in a Search Model of the Urban
Housing Market,œ Journal of Urban Economics 5:  329-345.

Kain and Quigley, Housing Markets and Racial Discrimination:  Chaps, 2-3.

Yinger, John. (1979).  œPrejudice and Discrimination in the Urban Housing
Market,œ in Peter Mieszkowski and Mahlon Straszheim (eds.), Current Issues
in Urban Economics.  Baltimore and London:  The Johns Hopkins University
Press:  430-468.




Discriminatory Practices in Housing Markets

Galster, George. (1990). œRacial Steering in Urban Housing Markets:  A
Review of the Adult Evidence,œ The Review of Black Political Economy, Vol.
18, No. 3:  105-129.

Turner, Margery Austin. (1992). œDiscrimination in Urban Housing Markets:
Lessons from Fair Housing Audits,œ Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 3, Issue 2:
185-217 (ILL).

Rothman, Jack. (1969).  œThe Ghetto Makers,œ in Kain, Race and Poverty:
122-127.

Galster, George. (1987).  œRacial Differentials in Real Estate Advertising
Practices:  An Explanatory Case Study,œ Journal of Urban Affairs, Vol. 9,
No. 3:  199-215.

Housing Discrimination and Housing Prices

Bailey, Martin J. (1966). œEffects of Race and Other Demographic Factors
on the Value of Single Family Homes,œ Land Economics 42:  933-942.

Yinger, John, œThe Black-White Price Differential in Housing:  Some
Further Evidence,œ Land Economics, 54:  185-206.

Housing Choice, and Wealth Creation

Kain and Quigley, Housing Markets and Racial Discrimination:  Chaps. 5, 6
and 11.

Munnell, Alicia H., Lynn E. Browne, James McEneaney, and Geoffrey M.B.
Tootell.  (1992). œMortgage Lending in Boston:  Interpreting HMDA Data,œ
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Working Paper, Series No. 92-7 (October).

Spatial Mismatch and Black Employment

Kain, John F., œHousing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan
Decentralization,œ Quarterly Journal of Economics LXXXII, No. 2 (May
1968): 175-197.

Mooney, Joseph D. (1969).  œHousing Segregation, Negro Employment, and
Metropolitan Decentralization:  An Alternative Perspective,œ Quarterly
Journal of Economics (May):  59-70.

Rosenbaum, James E. and Susan J. Popkin. (1991). œEmployment and Earnings
of Low-Income Blacks Who Move to Middle-Class Suburbs,œ in Jencks and
Peterson, The Urban Underclass: 342- 356.

Kain, John F. (1992). œSpatial Mismatch Hypothesis:  Three Decades Later,œ
Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 3, Issue 2: 371-460.

Skills and Black Employment

Freeman, Richard, (1991).  œEmployment and Earnings of Disadvantaged Youth
in a Labor Shortage Economy,œ in Jencks and Peterson, The Urban
Underclass, 103-121. Kasarda, John. (1989). œUrban Industrial Transition
and the Underclass,œ The Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science 501: 26-47.

U.S. Department of Labor (1988), Opportunity 2000: Creative Affirmative
Action Strategies for a Changing Workforce.  Chapter 2.

Moss, Philip and Chris Tilly. œSoft Skills and Race: An Investigation of
Black Menœs Employment Problems,œ University of Massachusetts, Lowell,
April, 1994.

Rodgers, William M., œHow Much Can Job Training Aid in Narrowing the
Black-White Wage Gap?œ The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA,
December, 1994

The Underclass

Jencks, Christopher. (1991).  œIs the American Underclass Growing?œ in
Jencks and Peterson, The Urban Underclass:  28-102.

Tienda, Marta and Haya Steir, œJoblessness and Shiftlessness:  Labor Force
Activity in Chicagoœs Inner City, in Jencks and Peterson, The Urban
Underclass: 135-154.

Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged, Chaps. 1 and 2.

Schools and Educational Achievement

Hanushek, Eric A. (1981). œThrowing Money at Schools,œ Journal of Policy
Analysis and Management, Vol. 1, No. 1: 19-42.

Kozol, Jonathan. (1992). Savage Inequalities: Children in Americaœs
Schools. New York:  Harper Perenial: Chaps. 1, 2 and 5 (LC4091 K69).

Ferguson, Ronald F. œPaying for Public Education: New Evidence on How and
Why Money Matters.œ Harvard Journal of Legislation. 28:465, 1991.

The Black Family and the Poverty of Black Children

Ellwood, David T. and Jonathan Crane. (1990).  œFamily Change Among Black
Americans:  What Do We Know?  Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 4,
No. 4 (Fall):  65-84.

Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged, Chaps. 3 and 4.

Marriage and the Black Family

Anderson, Elijah. (1991).  œNeighborhood Effects on Teenage Pregnancy,œ in
Jencks and Peterson, The Urban Underclass:  375-398.

Mare, Robert D. and Christopher Winship. (1991). œSocioeconomic Change and
the Decline of Marriage for Blacks and Whites,œ in Jencks and Peterson,
The Urban Underclass 175-202.

Duncan, Greg J. and Saul D. Hoffman. (1991). œTeenage Underclass Behavior
and Subsequent Poverty:  Have the Rules Changed?,œ in Jencks and Peterson,
The Urban Underclass:  155-174.

Crime, Social Disorganization and the Ghetto

Clark, Kenneth B. (1967).  Dark Ghetto:  Dilemmas of Social Power.  New
York:  Harper and Row, First Harper Torchbook:  Chaps. 4 and 5.

Kotlowitz, Alex. (1991).  There are No Children Here.  New York:  Anchor
Books, Doubleday, 1991.

Freeman, Richard B. (1992).  œCrime and Employment of Disadvantaged
Youths,œ in Peterson and Vroman, Urban Labor Markets:  201-238.

Approaches to Public Policy

Ellwood, David T. (1988).  œChoosing a Future,œ in Poor Support:  Poverty
in the American Family.  New York:  Basic Books, Chapter 7:  231-245.

Kain, John F. and Joseph J. Persky, (1969).  œAlternatives to the Gilded
Ghetto,œ The Public Interest (Winter)œ:  74-87.

Kennedy, Robert F. (1969).  œIndustrial Investment in Urban Poverty
areas,œ in Kain, Race and Poverty, (ed.):  153-164.

Loury, Glenn C. (1990).  œBlack Dignity and the Common Good,œ First
Things, Number 4, (June/July):  12-19.

Loury, Glenn C. (1992).  œTwo Paths to Black Power,œ First Things, Number
26, (October):  18-24.

Wilson, William J. (1991).  œPublic Policy Research and The Truly
Disadvantaged,œ in Jencks and Peterson, The Urban Underclass:  460-481.

Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged, Chap. 7.

Ferguson, Ronald F., œHow Professionals in Community-Based Programs
Perceive and Respond to the Needs of Black Male Youth,œ in Nurturing Young
Black Males:  Challenges to Agencies, Programs, and Social Policy.
Washington, D.C.:  The Urban Institute Press.