Wars and the Labor Market Outcomes of Minorities in the U.S. / Andreas Ferrara.

By:

Ferrara, Andreas

Contributor(s):

National Bureau of Economic Research

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w31811.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Subject(s):

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Abstract: This chapter reviews key literature studying the effects of wars on minority and underrepresented groups in U.S. labor markets in the 20th century. These labor markets, characterized by historically pervasive barriers to entry into certain occupations and industries, promotions, and fair pay for underrepresented workers, experienced severe challenges during times of war. These challenges served to break down some of the barriers faced by underrepresented workers. Recent years have shown that sudden labor shortages, similar to those induced by large-scale wars, are not a feature of the past. Hence, a better understanding of such shortages and their effects on different groups continues to be important. The focus here is on the labor market outcomes of Black and white women, as well as Black men, during and after the two World Wars. Their labor inputs compensated for the lack of white male workers during the war years; however, only WWII generated significant and more prolonged socioeconomic progress for both groups. This chapter summarizes theoretical considerations that can explain why some war-induced labor market shocks are persistent while others are not, and the empirical literature related to the labor market experiences of women and Black workers during and after the World Wars.

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Item type	Home library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Working Paper	Biblioteca Digital	Colección NBER	nber w31811 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not For Loan

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October 2023.

This chapter reviews key literature studying the effects of wars on minority and underrepresented groups in U.S. labor markets in the 20th century. These labor markets, characterized by historically pervasive barriers to entry into certain occupations and industries, promotions, and fair pay for underrepresented workers, experienced severe challenges during times of war. These challenges served to break down some of the barriers faced by underrepresented workers. Recent years have shown that sudden labor shortages, similar to those induced by large-scale wars, are not a feature of the past. Hence, a better understanding of such shortages and their effects on different groups continues to be important. The focus here is on the labor market outcomes of Black and white women, as well as Black men, during and after the two World Wars. Their labor inputs compensated for the lack of white male workers during the war years; however, only WWII generated significant and more prolonged socioeconomic progress for both groups. This chapter summarizes theoretical considerations that can explain why some war-induced labor market shocks are persistent while others are not, and the empirical literature related to the labor market experiences of women and Black workers during and after the World Wars.