Racial Discrimination and White Gain Author(s): Albert Szymanski Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 41, No.

3 (Jun., 1976), pp. 403-414 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2094250 . Accessed: 26/11/2013 15:03
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AND WHITE GAIN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Warren, Bruce L. 1966 "A multiple variable approach to the assortative mating phenomenon." Eugenics Quarterly 13:285-90. Warren,Ronald L. 1963 The Community in America. Chicago: Rand McNally.

403

Whyte, William Foote 1943 Street Corner Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Young, Michael and Peter Willmott 1957 Family and Kinship in East London. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND WHITE GAIN

ALBERT SZYMANSKI University of Oregon
American Sociological Review 1976, Vol. 41 (June): 403-414

The question of whether or not whites gain economically from economic discrimination against third world people is examined with evidence from the 1970 U.S. census. The impact of racial discrimination is measured by the percentage of the population of third world origin in each state and by the ratio of black to white male earnings for those who work full time. White gain is measured by the level of white male earnings in each state and the Gini coefficientof earnings inequality among white males. If whites gain economically from racism, we would expect to find that the greater the percentage of the population of a state that is third world and the lower the ratio of black/white earnings then the higher the level of white earnings and the less the inequality in white earnings. The basic relationships were examined controlling for percentage of the population that is urban, percentage of the economically active population in manufacturing, level of personal income, region and percentage of the population that is third world. It is found that whites do not gain from economic discrimination;on the contrary, white working people actually lose economically from such discrimination.It is argued that racism is a divisive force which undermines the economic and political strength of working people and acts to worsen the economic position of white workers in the most racist areas. In support of this interpretation,data on the strength of unions is examined.

There have been a numberof studieson the questionof whetheror not white working people actuallygain economically from economicdiscrimination againstblacks and other national minorities in the United States. The most influentialof these include: Becker (1971), Glenn (1963;
1966), Thurow (1969) and Reich (1971).1

All but the last of these essentiallyargue

I Some other relevant studies include Blalock (1957), Cutright (1965), Dollard (1937:ch. 6) and Krueger (1963). The weight of all of these studies is the conclusion that white workers benefit from economic discrimination against blacks. On the other hand, a number of descriptive studies of American strikes, union organizing and labor struggles suggest the opposite, i.e., that racism is in fact used to keep whites as well as blacks impoverished. See for example: Brody (1960), Bracey et al. (1971) and Spero and Harris (1968). Others who make theoretical arguments that white workers gain from racial discriminationinclude Baron (1971) and Blauner (1972).

that the white workingclass benefitsfrom economicdiscrimination and thereforehas a stake in its persistence.Reich, on the other hand, working within the Marxist paradigm, attemptsto demonstrate that, on the contrary,the white workingclass suffers from economic discrimination against blacks and consequently has an interestin endingthat discrimination. Becker(1971) has statedwhatis perhaps the most widely accepted theory of discrimination amongcontemporary academic economists.He argues that discrimination is a matterof personaltaste on the part of employerswho must forego a part of their potential income in order to realize their desire to avoid associating with blacks. Because white employers resist hiring blacks, even when doing so would produce greaterprofitsfor them, they are net losers fromeconomicdiscrimination. On the other hand, white workerswho get the jobs the white employers irrationally (from the

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point of view of profit maximization)re- in the first instance from economic disfuse to give to blacks are net beneficiaries crimination.He mentions the possibility Implicit in the Becker that low paid black labor might retard of discrimination. is that it is the attitudesof the mechanizationand prevent the most effiformulation that are the cause of discrimina- cient utilization of labor, and thereby employers and growthof the tion (and hence that attitudesmust change reduce the productivity can be eliminated) entire economy, resultingin lower income before discrimination and that white workers have a rational for whitesthan would be the case if blacks discrimination(and did not receivelow pay. He also mentions stake in perpetuating effecton whiteincome hence that'they will resist effortsto elimi- the possibledraining of taxes for welfare payments and law nate it). Thurow(1969) explicitlyrejectsBecker's enforcementexpenses caused by discrimiformulation.He argues instead that em- nation againstblacks. He further suggests of blacksin the worst ployers actually prefer to hire blacks, as thatthe concentration long as they can be exploited to increase jobs need not necessarilypush whites up. profit. He thus maintains that not only It might result merely in increasing the of low payingjobs or increasing white workers,but also white employers, proportion rate among whites. He benefit economicallyfrom discrimination. the unemployment with Becker, that it is primar- also discussesthe possibilitythat if blacks Disagreeing ily attitudesthat are the cause of discrim- didn'tdo the low payingjobs, perhapsthey ination, Thurow argues that it is the would be done by machine. Going on to examine the empiricalevimonopoly power of white employersthat Without dence, Glenn correlatesthe percentageof determinant. is the most important Metroof SMSAs (Standard such power, he argues, racial prejudice the population would have much less impact on black politan StatisticalAreas) that are black income. Unlike Becker (whose work is with a numberof indicators,the most imbasically theoretical) Thurow brings sub- portant of which are the proportion of stantialevidence,consistentwith his anal- white families makingmore than $10,000 His estimate a year and his index of occupationstatus ysis, to bear on his argument. $15 billion (which is used as a measureof the overthat whitesgain approximately of whitesin the betterjobs). againstblacks, representation a year from discrimination however, suffers from his failure to take Glenn finds that the higher the proportion into account the secondaryeffects of dis- of blacks in an SMSA, the greater the of whites in the better criminationsuch as those suggested by overrepresentation GlennandReich (see below). The implica- paying jobs. However, in spite of his exanalysisis that discrimina- pectations,he could not find a relationship tion of Thurow's tion will be fairly hard to uproot since all between the proportionof blacks and the of the whitecommunity gainfrom measureof white income. Nevertheless,he segments whites concludesthat all thingsconsidered, its practice. from ecobenefit in economically general Glenn (1963; 1966) uses data from the blacks and nomic discrimination against 1950 and 1960 censuses to attempt to the in United that antagonism "Negro-white in whites thesis that genhis demonstrate eral benefit economicallyfrom discrimina- States is, and will long remain, partly a tion againstblacks.He firstlays out various matterof realisticconflict.Negroes cannot reasonswhy whitesmightgain advance without the loss of traditional hypothetical or lose from economic discrimination. white benefits,and it is unlikelythat most Along with Thurow,he mentionsthe direct of the whites who benefitfrom the inferior effect of blacks taking the low paying and status of the Negroes will willingly allow (Glenn, 1966:178). unpleasantjobs, thereby allowing whites Negro advancement" Reich (1971) after developingan arguto escape such work and rise to fill the betterpaying and more satisfyingjobs. He ment withinthe Marxisttheoreticalframethen discussessome of the possibleindirect work uses data from the 1960 census to that hypo- demonstrate that white workers suffer effects of racial discrimination from ecotheticallymight more than negate the gain ratherthan benefiteconomically

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AND WHITE GAIN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION nomic discrimination againstblacks. Reich discussessome indirecteffectsof economic discrimination that Glenn did not mention. He maintains that these factors have a considerably greatereffect in reducingthe economicpositionof whites than the effect of whites getting higher paying jobs than blacks improvesthe white situation.Reich argues that the wages of white workers are considerably reducedby racial antagonisms, in good part because union growth and labor militancy are inhibited. Employers evoke the fear of cheaper unemployed, or underemployed black labor taking away white jobs to keep wages down and unions weak or absent. On the shop floor, the antagonisms between white and black workers,or the fear of the introduction of black workers,deflectthe workers' concernsfrom a defenseof theirclass position. In general, racial antagonismscause white and black workersto fighteach other to the mutualdetriment of both. The somewhat betterjobs and wages of white workers are not enough to make up for what they lose because of the lack of solidarity with black workers. Reich also suggests that the racial antagonisms, which are the result in corollaryof racial discrimination, poor public servicesand especiallyin poor public education, which adversely affect blacks and whites alike. Racial antagonism preventsthe interracialunity necessaryto successfully demand quality education. Whitesget some satisfactionin seeing that no matter how poor white schools might be, they look good compared to black schools. Reich (1971) correlates the ratio of black/whitemedianfamilyincomewith the Gini index of income inequalityfor white family income. For the 48 biggest SMSAs of coefficient in 1960, he founda regression -.47 betweenthese two variables(Reich, 1971:111). Bowels (Reich, 1971:111), for the 50 states, doinga similarcorrelation found a -.58 correlation. These results mean that the less economicdiscrimination against blacks, the less inequalityamong whites. Reich maintainsthat these results are incompatible with the modelsof Becker and Thurowand indicatethat a concentration of blacks in the poorer paying jobs does not resultin pushingwhitesinto better

405

paying jobs. To the contrary,the greater income inequality among whites, in the presence of greater discrimination against blacks, indicatesthat workingclass whites are worse off where discrimination is the greatest. This paper tests the basic propositions of Becker, Glenn,Thurowand Reich using a somewhat more comprehensiveset of measures than any one of the previous tests has. More important,it investigates the mechanismsby which discrimination affectswhite gain.
Hypotheses and Design

Certaininferencescan be made from the theoriespresentedby Thurow,Becker and of Glenn concerningboth the distribution white earningswithin a given geographical area and the relativelevel of white earnings among differentgeographicalareas. Quite differentinferencesfollow from the model layed out by Reich. If Thurow,Beckerand Glenn are right in arguingthat economic discrimination against third world people benefitswhite workers,becausethe process of being forced into the lowest payingjobs pushes whites into the better jobs, we would expect to find (I) that whites in those areaswhere economicdiscrimination againstthird world people is the most significant would, other things being equal, have higher income than in those areas where economic discrimination against third world people is the least significant; and (2) that the earningsinequality. among whites would be greatestwhere economic discrimination againstthirdworldpeople is least significantand least where economic discrimination againstthirdworldpeople is the most significant.2 We expect (1) because given a set earningsdistribution,if third world people disproportionately take the lowest paying jobs, then it logically follows that whites will take what is left over, namely the higher paying jobs. We expect (2) because given a set earnings if third world people are disdistribution, proportionately distributed amongthe lower
2Third world people include blacks, persons of Spanish origin, Asians and American Indians. The term "whites" is used to refer to everyone else. Thus, although most persons of Spanish origin are actually white they are excluded from the category of "whites"used in this paper.

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paying jobs then whites will be dispropor- index indicates that the poorer working among the better jobs class is worseoff relativeto the betterpaid, tionatelydistributed income distribu- while a decreasein the Gini index indicates and thus have a "tighter" tion among them. It should be noted that the opposite. The Gini index thus allows the mere existence of relative earnings us to make judgmentson the validity of equality among whites is not a sure indi- Becker's and Reich's claims which differcator that whites are benefitingfrom eco- entiate between the gain of white workers against third world and the gain of all whites. nomic discrimination people, since such a distributioncould In order to test the relationship between obviouslybe causedby whitesbunchingup economic discriminationand white ecoat the lower or the middle end of the nomic gain, I use the indicatorsdescribed earningsscale as well as at the top. But below. In all cases, data is from the 1970 if whitesdid not bunchup at all, this would U.S. Censusof Population. All incomedata be proof that whites did not benefit eco- refers to 1969. It is necessaryto measure nomically; i.e., lesser earnings inequality both the intensityand the potentialimpact among whites is a necessary,but not suf- of economic discrimination. As the indificient, condition for demonstratingthe cator of the intensityof racism, the ratio thesis that white of third world to white median earnings Becker-Thurow-Glenn A (for those who work year-around and fullworkersgain from racialdiscrimination. sufficientproof of the thesis of white gain time) was sought. This indicatordoes not would also have to show that the median measure the so-called "pure economic white earnings are higher in those areas discrimination" against third world people amongwhites who are equal in everyway, exceptin their wherethe earningsinequality is less. to whites (i.e., have nationalbackground, If the Reich thesis (that white workers the same education, skill level, age, job fromracialdiscrimination experiences,etc.); but it measuresthe alllose economically that takes againstthird world people) is correct, we aroundeconomic discrimination pattern.We would all aspects of economic discrimination, wouldexpect a different expect (1) that the medianwhite earnings direct and indirect,past and present, into are highestin those areas where economic account, since all these factors are closely and only the aggregate fully against third world people interconnected discrimination and (2) that earn- describesthe role of economic discriminawas the least significant ings inequalityamong whites was greatest tion and its impacton the rest of the econwhere economic discrimination against omy includingthe wages of white workers. third world people was the most intense. Of course,the ratioof thirdworldearnings We would expect (1) because the more to white earningsdoes not directlymeasure significant the discrimination,the more other aspects of racial oppressionsuch as divisive the racial issue is and hence the housing,on-the-job humiliations, education, greater opportunity employers have to leisure time discrimination and the evermakeuse of it to keep wages (whiteas well present degradationin interpersonal relaas third world) down. We would expect tionships. But discrimination in wages is (2) becausethe presenceof racialdivisive- both a very importantaspect of the whole ness acts to weaken unions and other gestalt of discriminationand perhaps a of class action which would particularly important key to all other manifestations racism.Unfortunately, otherwiseact to promote equality among aspectsof all-around white workers (by demanding that the data for the ratio of third world to white conditionof the poor be broughtup rela- earningsis not readilyavailable.Therefore, tively rapidlycomparedto the most privi- the ratio of black to white earnings for leged). More important,the Gini index those who worked full-time the year-around whites by class and is thus in 1969 is used to approximateit. Little differentiates able to tell us if the poorer working-class distortion shouldbe expectedhere because, whites lose or gain relative to the better on the one hand, the blacksare the biggest paid skilled workers, professionals,man- single thirdworldgroupin the U.S. (there agers, owners,etc. An increasein the Gini are more blacks in the U.S. than all other

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RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND WHITE GAIN

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third world people put together), and on the other, because patterns observable among blacks in most cases should be expected to reflect the general treatment of third world people. This indicator is similarto the one used by Reich (1971) in his study of white gain. It is necessary to measure more than just the intensity of racial discrimination, however,if we are concernedwith measuron white ing the impact of discrimination workers. No matter how intense discrimination againstthird world workersmight be, if they are, say, only one percent of the populationof an area, it would be very difficult for that discriminationto have much effect one way or the other on the 99% of the people that are white. On the other hand, if one-half of the population of an area is third world, then even slight against third world people discrimination could be expected to have an impact on white workers'wages.As a measureof the potential impact of racial discrimination of the population then, I use the percentage of an area that is third world, i.e., black, of Spanish origin, American Indian and Asian. This data is available.This measure is analogousto that used by Glenn (1966) in his study of white income gain. The of employresearchthus has the advantage ing measuressimilar (but not identicalto) those used in two of the most sophisticated previousstudiesof white gain. One of the two actualmeasures employed encompasses not just blacks, the major national minorityin the U.S., but all the third world minorities.This is important because all these groups perform similar economic roles in the U.S. economy. All specializein the same types of menial,low paying "dirty work" occupations (Faltermayer, 1974; Oppenheimer,1974). Since blacks and other "people of color" are functional substitutesfor one another in this economic role, any complete test of the thesis that white workers gain from shouldincludenot economicdiscrimination againstblacks, just economicdiscrimination which is most significantin those areas where blacks are the largestproportionof thirdworldpeople (especiallyin the South and the mid-West), but also againstLatin peoples (which is most significantin the

Westernstates and New York) as well as againstother third world people. As measuresof the effect of economic discrimination on whiteworkers,i.e., "white gain," I use median white male earnings
for full-time, year-around workers and the

Gini index of white male earningsinequality for full-time year-around workers.3In these measuresonly full-time,year-around workersare used in order to eliminatethe effect of different levels of employment, whichmay or may not be causedby factors relatedto racial discrimination. Here and in the ratio of black to white I used datafor malesonly in order earnings to separate out the effect of sexism and the complex patterns of interrelationbetweenracialand sexualdiscrimination from the effect of racism. I use data for individualearnings, ratherthanfamilyearnings, in order to focus on point of production and to eliminate the effect discrimination of differencesin female labor force participation rates, different proportions of familiesheadedby women, etc. I focus on point of productiondiscrimination, rather than on the overall economic situationof white families, since this seems to be the essence of what the various theories of white gain or loss are getting at in their schema. explanatory Glenn's study of 1960 census data employs a measureanalogousto medianwhite male earnings (the percentage of white familieswith income over $10,000) while Reich's study on the same census data relies instead on the Gini index of white family incomes. Unlike them, I use data on earningsratherthan on income (which differonly slightlyfor most of the population) in order to get to the heart of what is implied in the theories of the effect of economicdiscrimination, i.e., that it is wage andsalarydiscrimination againstindividuals and wage and salarygain or loss for individuals that are alleged to be causes and effects. As the units of analysis, I use the 50 states of the United States. Frequently,in
3The Gini index is the standard measure of inequality. It varies from "O" in the case of complete equality to "1" in the case of complete inequality. For a full discussion, see Miller, 1966.

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the SMSAs studieson income distribution, (StandardMetropolitanStatisticalAreas) are used insteadof the states.Each of these types of units has its advantages. The SMSAs have the advantage,generally,of being commonlabor markets,which is not the case with the larger units of states, as well as being more economicallyhomogeneous and compactthan the states. The states, on the other hand, have the advanruralas well as urban tage of encompassing economic activitiesand having more data whichrefersto them.In actuality published both units are probably almost equally valid in a test such as this. Previousstudies using both states and the SMSAs have shown almost identical findings (Reich, 1971:111). We chose the states, rather than the SMSAs, because (1) to choose exSMSAs would have disproportionately cluded people of Mexican origin in Californiaand the SouthWest,Indiansthroughout the Westernstatesandblacksin certain Southernareas and (2) because the intermediate variable in the model of the Marxist explanatory schema-percentage of the non-agricultural labor force in labor unions-is available only for the states, not for the SMSAs. I welcome attempted replicationsusing the SMSAs. r correlation coefficients The Pearsonian between are computedfor the relationships each of the two indicators of economic and each of the two meadiscrimination suresof whitegain.The use of linearregresby the evidence sion techniquesis validated which indicatethat the of scatterdiagrams distributionof the data is not curvilinear and that there exist no cases so extreme as to substantially distortthe results.Tests of statisticalsignificanceare not necessary since the universe of the 50 states, not a sample, is employed.The results are thus
statistically

(but not necessarily sociolog-

at any level. ically) significant are coefficients Once the basic regression computed, the relationshipbetween economic discriminationand white gain is calculated controlling for those factors which in previous studies of income distributionhave been shown to have a substantial impact: region, personal income per capita, occupational and industrial composition, degree of urbanizationand

percentageof the populationthat is third world (this last, only whererelevant). (See Reich, 1971:111.) These factors are controlled for both individuallyand simultaneously in order to determinewhether or not the zero-ordercorrelationsare in fact reflecting a real, rather than a spurious relationshipbetween the variables. Because one of the four tests involves correlatinga ratio (black to white male of medianearnings) with the denominator the ratio (white male median earnings), objections could be raised about the socalled "ratio-correlationproblem" (see Fuguittand Lieberson,1974). When there between "a" and "b," is a zero correlation there is neverthelessa negativecorrelation between "b" and "a/b." Another way of saying this is that if the sets of "a's" and "b's"are randomnumbers,there will be a negative relationbetween "b" and "a/b." phenomenon, Becauseof this mathematical there could be a danger of mistakenly judgingeither that there is a negativerelationship between two unrelated variables or no relationshipbetween two positively relatedvariables. A number of authors have suggested (Kuh and Meyer, 1955; Rangarajanand Chatterjee,1969) that this problemis not in cases like the one particularly important examined in this study since there is no a priori conceptualrelationbetween "a/b" and "b."But to be surethe resultsobserved are not artifactsof such a spuriouseffect, I also correlatedmedianblack male earnings with medianwhite male earningscontrolling for personal income per capita (these conceptscontainno commonterms). If the correlationobtainedis as strong as that observed between the ratio of black to whitemedianearningsand white median earnings,then it would seem that this later correlationis not spurious. Also if it is found that the correlation obtained is positive, rather than negative, this will indicatethat the resultscannot possiblybe spurious,since the allegedratio correlation effecteitherproducesa negativecorrelation where in fact there is none or an apparent when there is in fact lack of a correlation a positivecorrelation. After the basic relationshipsare examined, the Marxist model of the causative

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RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND WHITE GAIN

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and ship is weakened most when region is links betweeneconomicdiscrimination controlledfor. The weakeningof the posiwhite gain is examined. tive relationshipbetween the black/white The Results earningsratio and white median earnings The correlation between white male suggests that a good part, but not all, of medianearningsandthe ratioof blackmale this positive associationis caused by the to whitemale earningsis +.27, a smallbut systematic difference between the North positive relationship indicating that the and the South. Far from attenuatingthe higherblack earningsrelativeto white, the results, however, this fact merely reflects higher white earnings relative to other the realitythat both the black/white male is earningsratio and whitemale medianearnwhites (see Table 1). This relationship of the ings are lower in the South than in the consistently upheldwhen percentage populationthat is third world, percentage North (a fact which supportsthe overall urban,personalincomeper capitaand per- conclusion). In sum, it appearsthat earncentageof the laborforce in manufacturing ings discriminationagainst third world is controlledfor. It is weakened,but still people has a slight tendency to reduce positive, when region is controlled for. whiteearnings. That the relationshipbetween intensity When only those states with at least 12% and white earnings of their populationthird world are exam- of racial discrimination ined (i.e., those states where economic is real, and not a spuriousresult of the discrimination against third world people statistics used, is shown by (1) the fact economiceffect that the observed correlations are positive is able to have a significant on white earnings), the original relation- (an effectwhich could not be producedby effect) and (2) by the In these states the the ratio-correlation ships are strengthened. correlation coefficient is +.46, and this fact that the correlation between white stronger relationshipis maintained with male median earnings and black male everycontrol.Again,however,the relation- median earnings controlling for personal
Table 1. The Relationship between Black Male/White Male Earnings and Measures of White Gain:
1969 a

Black Male/White Male Earnings (All 50 States) Controlling for: ZeroOrder White Male Median Earnings White Male Gini
Inequality Index

Percentage Percentage Third World Urban +.29

-.35

Personal Income per Capita +.16

-.53

Percentage Region in Manu(South/ facturing Non-South) +.27

-.46

+.27
-.53

+.25
-. 52

09*
-.49

The 25 States with over 12 Percent of Their Populations Third World White Male Median Earnings White Male Gini Inequality Index +.46 -.58 +.33 -.43 +.20 -.54 +.33 -.64 +.54 -.56 +.21 -.63

A Data for earnings is for 1969, that for percentage third world is for 1970. Third world refers to blacks, American Indians, Asians and people of Spanish origin. * +.06 when all factors are simultaneously controlled for. Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of the Population, 1970 Detailed Characteristics(for each of the 50 states). U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of the Population, 1970 General Population Characteristics, U.S. Summary. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of the Population, 1970 Special Reports: Persons of Spanish Origin. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of the Population, 1970 Detailed Characteristics,U.S. Summary.

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Controlling for Personal Income per Capita and

Table 2. Relationship between White Male Median Earnings and Black Male Median Earnings: 1969

Zero-Order .68

No Other Variable .46

Percentage Third World .48

Percentage Urban .46

Percentage in Region Manufacturing (South/Non-South) .44 .49

Source: Same as Table 1.

income per capita suggeststhe same conclusion as the relationsfound in Table 1 (see Table 2). These results should be interpretedto mean that higher black earningsresult in higherwhite earnings,even controllingfor relative overall wealth, i.e., that whites benefitfromblacksbeingpaidmore. The correlation between the Gini inequalityindex for white malesand the ratio of black to white male median earningsis
-.53,

relationships are upheldin all casesfor both sets of states. In the states with at least 12% of theirpopulations thirdworld,controllingfor regionalso makesno difference; but in the country as a whole, a slight positive relation appears when region is controlled for. However, when region is for simultaneously controlled with the other three control factors a correlationcoefficient of -.25 is found, indicating that the

indicating that the greater the dis-

crimination againstthirdworldpeople, the greaterthe inequalityamong whites. This relationshipis consistently upheld when percentagethirdworld,percenturban,personal income per capita,percentageof the and region labor force in manufacturing, are controlled for. It is also consistently upheld when just those 25 states with at least 12% of their populationthird world are examined.It seems clear that earnings discrimination against third world people producesearningsinequalityamongwhites and thus, that poorer white workers lose relativeto high paid skilled workers,professionals, managers, owners, etc. from economicdiscrimination againstthirdworld people (what Reich, but not Becker, leads us to expect). The correlation between white male median earningsand the percentagethird world is -.07, indicatingthat there does not appear to be any increase in white earningswith increasingrelative numbers of thirdworldpeople (see Table 3). When only those stateswith morethan 12% third world people are examined,the very slight negative relationshipobserved for all 50 states becomes stronger, -.39-indicating that in these states, the more third world people relative to whites, the lower white earnings. When percent urban, personal in manuincomeper capitaand percentage facturingare controlledfor, the same basic

initial result obtainedwhen controllingfor region is spurious. In sum, there is no relation of any consequencebetween the proportionof a state's populationthat is third world and median white earningsin that state. If anything,there is actually a very slightnegativerelationship; i.e., whites are slightlybetteroff wherethere are fewer third world peoples. The correlation between the Gini inequality index for white males and the percentageof a state that is third world is +.50 indicatingthat the higher the proportion of third world people in a state's population, the more inequality there is among whites. This relationship is unaffectedby controllingfor percent urban, personalincome per capita, percentagein manufacturing or region.It is also virtually the same in the 25 states with over 12% of their populationthird world as it is in all 50 states. Thus, it is clear that, rather than promotingequalityamongwhites, the presence of third world people promotes and thus that the relatively inequality, poor white workerslose disproportionately from economic discrimination against third world people comparedto the better paid whites. In conclusion, no matter whether ecois measuredby the nomic discrimination ratio of black/white male earningsor by of a state that is thirdworld the percentage and no matterwhetherwhite gain is measured by the median white male earnings

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RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND WHITE GAIN

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Table 3. Relationship between Percent of Population that is Third World and Measures of White Gain: 1969-1970 Percent Third World (All 50 States) Controlling for: ZeroOrder White Male Median Earnings White Male Gini InequalityIndex White Male Median
Earnings -.39 -.40 -.44 -.47 -.40

Personal Percentage Income Urban per Capita -.25 +.56 -.11 +.50

Percentagein Region Manufacturing (South/Non-South) -.06 +.50 16* +.45

-.07 +.50

The 25 States with over 12 Percent of Their PopulationsThird World

White Male Gini InequalityIndex

*-.25

+.53

+.53

+.55

+.49

+.53

when all factors are simultaneously controlled for. Source: Same as Table 1.

or by the Gini indexof whitemale earnings is used as the measureof the intermediate inequality,it is clear that white working variable-working class solidarity.4 people do not gain economicallyby ecoWhenpercentagein tradeunions is connomic discriminationagainst third world trolled for in the correlationbetween the people. The thesis put forth by Becker, ratio of black male to white male median Thurow and Glenn is thus demonstrated earningsand white male median earnings, to be wrong(at least for 1969-70). Reich, the initiallyobservedcorrelation disappears on the otherhand,is almostfully supported. indicating that the relationship between Whiteworkersappearto actuallylose eco- these two measuresis more or less caused nomicallyfrom racialdiscrimination. These by the effect of racial discriminationon resultsappearto supportthe Marxisttheory working class solidarityand the effect of of the relationship between economic dis- working class solidarity on white male and white gain. In orderto test median earnings (see Table 4). There is crimination whether or not the Marxist explanatory only a very slight negative relationship schema offered by Reich is in fact valid, between the percentage third world and it is necessaryto do a furtheranalysisof whitemale medianearningswhetheror not the relationship amongthe variousvariables the percentageof the work force in trade in the Marxistcausativeschema. unionsis controlledfor. Nevertheless when the measure of workingclass solidarityis The Causes and Effect of Working Class controlledfor, the size of the correlation Unity is reducedby abouthalf (- .25 withoutthe The Marxist thesis predicts that the controland -.10 withit for the correlations primaryway racism acts on white gain is controlling for all possible demographic throughthe intermediary of workingclass 4The ratio of third world people to whites in solidarity.If the Marxisttheory is correct, trade is approximatelythe same as in the we would expect the disappearance of a labor unions force as a whole. In 1972, while blacks substantial part of the correlationbetween made up 11.6% of the civilian labor force, they the measuresof discrimination and white were 12.4% of all trade union members. Thus, gain when the measure of working class percentage of the labor force in trade unions solidarityis controlledfor. The percentage can be taken to be a fair measure of interracial class solidarity and not just white of a state's non-agricultural labor force working working class solidarity. (Source: Bureau of (which includes both third world people Labor Statistics, reported in U.S. News and and whites) which belongsto tradeunions World Report, January 22, 1973, p. 76.)

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AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

Table 4. Relationship between the Measures of Racism and White Male Earnings Controlling for Strength of Unions: 1969-1970 Controllingfor: Region Personal Income Percentagein Zero- Percentage Percentage (South/ per Capita Manufacturing Non-South) Order ThirdWorld Urban Black Male/White Male Median Earnings PercentageThird
World *-.10 .14
...

.01

.09

.00
-.05

-.00
+.04

.02
.13

05*
+.22

when five factors (excluding percentage third world) are controlled for. Source: Same as Table 1.

factors). This suggests that about half of the slighteffect that percentage thirdworld has on white male median earnings is caused by the effect of percentagethird world on workingclass solidarity. In sum, the more intense racial discrimination is, the lower are white earnings because of the effect of the intermediate variable of working class solidarity,while there is little relationbetweenthe percentage of a state that is thirdworld and white male median earnings;i.e., whites neither gain nor lose significantly from the presence of thirdworld people. When the ratio of black male to white male median earningsand the percentage third world is correlatedwith the Gini inequality index for white male earnings, controllingfor percentagein trade unions, the size of the correlation is in both cases about 10% less than what it was without controlling for the measure of workingclass solidarity(see Table 5). This indicatesthat the effect of both the intensity and the potentialimpactof racialdiscrimination on

inequality among whites is caused only secondarily by the intermediate variableof workingclass solidarity. Although there are relationshipsof the kind expected between the measures of racial discrimination and the white male inequalityindex, these relationshipsmust be caused through a linkage other than that of working class solidarity (as measured by membershipin unions). Some possibilitiesthat exist include those mentioned by Glenn (1966): the effect of discrimination in decreasing all-around productivityand the greaterburdenof taxation required for the state to deal with the results of discrimination, and those mentioned by Reich (1971) who suggests a relationshipbetween economic discrimination and white gain operating through inadequate education and poor public
services. Conclusions

No evidence at all for the white gain hypothesishas been found. No matterhow

Table 5. Relationship between Measures of Racism and White Male Gini Inequality Index Controlling for Strengths of Unions: 1969-1970 Controlling for: Zero- Percentage Percentage Order Third World Urban Black Male/White Male Median Earnings Percentage
Third World +.45
..

Personal Income per Capita

Region Percentagein (South/ Manufacturing Non-South)

-.44

-.27

-.44
+.50

-.45
+.43

-.35
+.46

-.45
+.47

Source: Same as Table 1.

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AND WHITE GAIN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION measured,whites do not benefit economWhite ically by economic discrimination. workers especially appear to benefit economically from the absence of economic against third world people, discrimination both in the absolutelevel of their earnings and in relativeequalityamongwhites. The gain of poorer whites from the absenceof againstthirdworld economicdiscrimination people has been shown to be, in part, caused by the effect that the lack of disworkingclass has on increasing crimination the ability of solidarityand, consequently, the workingclass to securebettereconomic conditionsfor itself. The Marxisttheoryof of white the effect of racial discrimination workers is thus partiallyborne out. of these results The politicalimplications are the opposite from those suggestedby Becker (1971), Thurow (1969) and Glenn (1963; 1966). All three men, finding that white workers benefit economsuggest ically from racial discrimination, that white workersthus have a stake in its preservationand should be expected to oppose equality for third world people (since equalityis againsttheirrationaleconomicinterests).Reich, on the otherhand, arguingin the Marxist tradition,suggests that because both third world and white workers lose economically from racism, solithere is a rationalbasis of interracial darityin the struggleagainstracialdiscrimination. The weight of this study is in supportof Reich's conclusions.
REFERENCES Baron, Harold 1971 "The demand for black labor." Radical America 5:1-46. Becker, Gary S. 1971 The Economics of Discrimination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Blalock, Hubert 1957 "Percent non-white and discrimination in the South." American Sociological Review 22:677-82. Blauner, Robert 1972 Racial Oppression in America. New York: Harper and Row Bracey, John, August Meier and Elliott Rudwick 1971 Black Workers and Organized Labor. Belmont, Ca.: Wadsworth. Brody, David 1960 Steelworkers in America: The NonUnion Era. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

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Cutright, Phillips 1965 "Negro subordinationand white gains." American Sociological Review 30:11012. Dollard, John 1937 Class and Caste in a Southern Town. New Haven: Yale University Press. Faltermayer, Edmund 1974 "Who will do the dirty work tomorrow?" Fortune 84:132-8. Fuguitt, Glenn and Stanley Lieberson 1974 "Correlations of ratios or difference scores having common terms." Pp. 12844 in E. F. Borgatta (ed.), Sociological Methodology (1973-4). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Glenn, Norval 1963 "Occupational benefits to whites from subordination of Negroes." American Sociological Review 28:443-8. 1966 "White gains from Negro subordination." Social Problems 14:159-78. Krueger, Anne 1963 "The economics of discrimination."The Journal of Political Economy 71:443-8. Kuh, E. and J. R. Meyer 1955 "Correlation and regression estimates when the data are ratios." Econometrica 23:400-16. Miller, Herbert 1966 Income Distribution in the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Oppenheimer,Martin 1974 "The sub-proletariat: dark skins and dirty work." The Insurgent Sociologist 4:7-20. Rangarajan,C. and S. Chatterjee 1969 "A note on comparison between correlation coefficients of original and transformedvariables."American Statistician 23:28-9. Reich, Michael 1971 "The economics of racism."Pp. 107-13 in David M. Gordon (ed.), Problems in Political Economy. Lexington, Ma.: Heath. Spero, Sterling and Abram Harris 1968 The Black Worker and Organized Labor. New York: Atheneum. Thurow, Lester 1969 Poverty and Discrimination. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. U.S. Bureau of the Census 1973a Census of the Population: 1970 Detailed Characteristics: U.S. Summary. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1973b Census of the Population: 1970 Detailed Characteristics (for each of the 50 states). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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Reports: Persons of Spanish Origin. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. U.S. News and World Report 1973 January 22, p. 76.

1973c Census of the Population: 1970 General Population Characteristics, U.S. Summary. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1973d Census of the Population, 1970 Special

BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT *

ALEJANDROPORTES Duke University KENNETH L. WILSON University of Texas, Austin

American Sociological Review 1976, Vol. 41 (June): 414-431

Main and interactive effects of racial differences in educational attainment are examined on the basis of a recent longitudinal sample of the U.S. high school population. Availability of aprpopriatemeasures permits comparison between "comprehensive"models of the attainment sequence between blacks and whites. In agreement with past results, it is found that blacks have higher educational attainment than whites of similar parental status and ability. This additive race effect disappears, however, when the full set of intervening variables is considered. Race interactions are found to affect all endogenous variables. Differences in the process of educational attainment point to the stronger relative role of parental status, measured ability, and school grades among whites, and of self-esteem and educational aspirations among blacks. Implications of these findings, as they suggest differences between "insiders"and "outsiders"to institutional channels for attainment, are examined. Limitations of the data and lines for future research are discussed.

The problem of differential access of equalities in opportunityand final attainwhites and non-whites to positions in the ment amongwhitesand non-whites(Jencks American stratification system lies in the et al., 1973; Duncan, 1967). midst of two major currents in the empirical Questionslogicallyraisedby this last set literature. On the one hand, the thrust of resultsare, first,the extentto which difof status attainment research has been ferences in attainmentbetween the races oriented toward developing models of the can be explained by a set of mediating attainment process valid for the society as variablesand, second, the possibilitythat a whole (Blau and Duncan, 1967; Sewell the very processby whichindividuals come and Hauser, 1972; Haller and Portes, to attainpositions in the stratification sys1973). On the other hand, the literature tem varies with race. concerned with race differences has been The expandingliteratureof multivariate oriented mostly toward documenting in- modelinganalysesof the attainment process
* Data for this study were generously provided by the director of the Youth in Transition Project, Jerald G. Bachman. We gratefully acknowledge his help, as well as that of the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan. Support for the analysis was provided by the University Research Institute of the University of Texas at Austin. We wish to thank Professors Archibald 0. Haller, William A. Sewell and Sheldon Olson as well as the editor and two ASR reviewers for their helpful comments and criticisms. Responsibility for the content and errors rests entirely with the authors.

has begun to provide answers to these questions.Thus, Blau and Duncan (1967) and Duncan (1968) documentthe existence of a "doublehandicap" for blacks in which the advantagesof parentalachievement fail to convert to advantages for the new cohort, and advantagesgained along the way of attainment, i.e., education,fail to convertto occupational and income advantages,relativeto whites.Similarly, Coleman, Blum, Sorensenand Rossi (1972),

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