Black–White Wage Differentials in a Multiple Sample Selection Bias Model

Abstract

This paper simultaneously incorporates two sources of selection bias in the black-white wage equations. It demonstrates that the biases due to an individual’s propensity to be in the labor force and the firm’s hiring practices are important in determining the black–white wage differential and failure to account for both biases will result in inaccurate estimation of the black–white wage differential. We found that adjusting for double selection bias in the wage equation, the black–white female wage gap is 26% larger than the black–white male wage gap, and 12.1% larger when we adjust for a single selection bias. The results seem to suggest that at the macro level, the enforcement of policies related to racial issues in the labor market will likely lead to a reduction in the black–white wage gap.