The Relative Earnings of Young Mexican, Black, and White Women
Antecol, H.; Bedard, K.
ILR Review 56(1): 122-135
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-7939 Document Number: 343130
This analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicates that young Mexican women and young black women earned, respectively, 9.5% and 13.2% less than young white women in 1994. Differences in education appear to be the most important explanation for the Mexican-white wage gap, whereas differences in labor force attachment are the most important determinant of the black-white wage gap. The authors show that accounting for actual labor market experience, rather than simply imputing experience based on years since leaving school, is crucially important in such analyses.