Race, Income, and Authority at Work: A Cross-Temporal Analysis of Black and White Men (1972-1994)

Abstract

Using data from the 1972-1994 General Social Surveys, I examine racial differences in the effect of job authority on men's income. The research addresses three questions: (I) Does a racial gap in income between black and white men persist net of background factors? (2) Are there black-white differences in the amount of income returns to job authority?; and (3) does the black-white gap in income returns to job authority change over time? There is an income gap between black and white men even after controlling for education, experience, hours worked, occupation, authority, region, and city size. There is no difference in the income returns to job authority among men at the lowest levels of authority. However, among men at the highest level of authority, there is a substantial net difference favoring whites over blacks. Finally, there is little evidence that this income gap declined between 1972 and 1994. I discuss the implications for the importance of race as a factor affecting individual life chances.