Re: Political Sci/Social Sci Term Paper Ideas Available

Don Libby (dlibby@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Sat, 07 Sep 1996 10:31:10 -0700

Donald L. Libby wrote:
>
> >From: na716472@anon.penet.fi
> >Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 08:58:42 -0500
>
> >Political Sci/Social Sci Term Paper Ideas Availablesnip
>
> >"Government enforced wage equalization will work only in
> >the downward direction" - despite any initial appearance
> >to the contrary! And believe it or not, the least
> >preferred job candidate doesn't even have to be awarded a
> >job for many phenomena to take place!
>
> Wage equalization pushes down wages for those whose wage is
> initially above the mean, and it pushes up wages for those
> whose wage is initially below the mean, all other things
> equal. Whether a particular group's wage rises or
> falls depends on whether the rate of wage equalization
> exceeds the rate of growth in average wages. In the US,
> except for a brief period in the early 1980's when average
> real incomes for whites declined, average incomes for both
> whites and blacks have been rising, although they have been
> rising slightly faster for blacks than for whites. Even
> so, average personal incomes for blacks are still about 66%
> of average incomes for whites - believe it or not.
>
> -dl

OOPS! Sorry, error in prior posting: average real personal
income for whites declined for a brief period during the late
1970s, by the early 1980s it had resumed the long-term
up-trend. Also, average personal incomes for blacks were
about 66% of average personal incomes for whites in 1980, but
the current figure is closer to 70%.

Table P-2a. Race and Hispanic Origin--All Persons 15 Years
Old and Over, by Mean Income: 1947 to 1994 (in 1994 Dollars)

Year All
Races White Black 2/
-------------------------------------------------

1994 ............. $23,278 $24,119 $17,293
1990.............. 22,499 23,304 16,193
1985 ............. 21,105 21,854 15,157
1980.............. 19,803 20,445 14,319
1975 ............. 20,318 21,041 14,076
1970.............. 20,055 20,838 13,776
1965.............. 18,339 19,218 11,141
1960.............. 16,090 16,933 9,325
1955.............. 14,851 15,701 7,945
1950.............. 13,440 14,170 6,974

SOURCE: Current Population Reports, Series P60
Income Statistics Branch/HHES Division
U.S. Bureau of the Census
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C. 20233-8500
(301) 763-8576