Why has black-white skill convergence stopped?
By: Derek Neal.
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 11090; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 11090.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: African Americans -- Education -- Economic aspects.; African Americans -- Education -- Social aspects.; African Americans -- Employment.; Skilled labor -- United States.; Unskilled labor -- United States.
Description: "All data sources indicate that black-white skill gaps diminished over most of the 20th century, but black-white skill gaps as measured by test scores among youth and educational attainment among young adults have remained constant or increased in absolute value since the late 1980s.  I examine the potential importance of discrimination against skilled black workers, changes in black family structures, changes in black household incomes, black-white differences in parenting norms, and education policy as factors that may contribute to the recent stability of black-white skill gaps.  Absent changes in public policy or the economy that facilitate investment in black children, best case scenarios suggest that even approximate black-white skill parity is not possible before 2050, and equally plausible scenarios imply that the black-white skill gap will remain quite significant throughout the 21st century"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.