num_pages: 184
description:  Walter E. Williams applies an economic analysis to the problems black Americans have faced in the past and still face in the present to show that that free-market resource allocation as opposed to political allocation is in the best interests of minorities. Contrasting the features of market resource allocation with those of the political arena he explains how in the political arena minorities cannot realize a particular preference unless they win the will of the majority. In the market he shows there is a sort of parity (nonexistent in the political arena) in which one persons dollar has the same power as the next persons. Williams debunks many common labor market myths and reveals how the minimum wage law has imposed incalculable harm on the most disadvantaged members of our society. He explains that the real problem is that people are not so much underpaid as underskilled and that the real task is to help unskilled people become skilled. The author also reveals how licensing and regulation reduce economic opportunities for people especially those who might be described as discriminated against and having little political clout. Using the examples of the taxi cab and trucking industries before and after deregulation he illustrates how government regulation closes entry and reinforces economic handicaps whereas deregulation not only has helped minorities enter industries in greater numbers but also has benefited consumers.
language: English
title: Race & Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination?
publisher: Hoover Institution Press