David Blackaby

The ethnic wage gap and employment differentials in the 1990s: Evidence for Britain

Abstract It is twenty years since Britain passed legislation to combat racial discrimination. Despite this, Britains nonwhite ethnic minorities still appear to face substantial amounts of discrimination in the labour market. Unemployment is particularly severe.

Unemployment among Britain's Ethnic Minorities

Using a sample of over 100,000 males from the Labour Force Survey, this paper explores the employment prospects of different ethnic groups. There are significant differences across groups so that discrimination studies that consider ethnic minorities as one homogeneous group involve a large degree of approximation. The paper pays particular attention to the considerable differences between the Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi groups. It argues that the differences are not the result of different levels of discrimination by the White majority, rather the predominately Muslim Pakistani/Bangladeshi community is less assimilated compared with other ethnic minority groups. Copyright 1999 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester

A Picture of Male and Female Unemployment among Britain's Ethnic Minorities

Using a sample of around one million observations from the 1991 Census, the paper investigates unemployment differences across Britains ethnic minorities. Unemployment differences are not simply the result of characteristic differences or discrimination by the white majority. There are equally wide differences in female unemployment rates, compared with males, between the white majority and the non-white ethnic minorities. Unemployment rates among the British born tend to be considerably higher than foreign born, but this is accounted for by characteristic differences. Thus there is no evidence that the British born are actually doing worse, but they do not seem to be becoming better assimilated either. Coauthors are Stephen Drinkwater, Derek Leslie, and Philip Murphy. Copyright 1997 by Scottish Economic Society.

The payment of public sector workers in the UK: reconciliation with North American findings

Abstract In common with recent North American evidence, the highest wage premiums for UK public-sector workers are found in the lower tail of the wage distribution. Evidence of public sector underpayment at the opposite extreme of the earnings spectrum is also apparent.

Ethnic and Other Minority Representation in UK Academic Economics

Using a survey questionnaire of academic economists in the United Kingdom, we examine the representation of ethnic and other minorities. We find that nearly 12% of UK-employed academic economists are of ethnic minority origin. However, only 1% of the sample are UK-born ethnic minority. Controlling for individual and workplace characteristics, there is no significant ethnic minority effect on academic rank. However, there is a significant negative earnings effect. Further, 41% of ethnic minority economists feel that they have suffered workplace discrimination.

Is There a Public Sector Training Advantage? Evidence from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey

Using matched employer–employee data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (2004), we find a significant training ‘advantage’ exists for public sector workers over private sector workers even after accounting for differences in the composition of the two workforces. This finding is robust to all but one change in specification, designed to account for worker sorting effects which can lead to unobserved workplace‐based effects being correlated with individual worker characteristics. Using the average characteristics of workers within an establishment as a control for these sorting effects all but eliminates the estimated public sector training advantage, which has otherwise been an empirical regularity of many individual‐based training models.

Graduate earnings in Great Britain: a matter of degree?

In this paper we show that whilst there appear to be substantial private earnings gains to be had from a university education, these are greater for women than they are for men. Due to substantial asymmetries in post-graduation earnings performance, choice of subject is more important for men.

Union membership, collective bargaining coverage and the trade union mark-up for Britain

Abstract This paper estimates the union mark-up using British General Household Survey data. The wage gap is decomposed both for the mean and the variance of the earnings distribution. The results indicate that the union mark up is larger than previously estimated and that structural effects account for a major part of the differences that are found in the earnings distributions of covered union members, covered non-unionists and uncovered non-unionists.

Why are ethnic minority applicants less likely to be accepted into higher education

The government is committed to widening access to higher education, yet applicants from ethnic minorities have 5.8 per cent less chance of gaining an acceptance than white. For some groups, for example Black-Caribbeans, the difference is even larger. Is this the result of institutional racism or because ethnic minorities have weaker qualifications than whites? The paper explores UCAS statistics from 1996–2000, which give around 1.38 million usable observations. Qualifications are the main determinant of success; but ethnicity has an additional positive effect. The paper investigates the reasons for this. Finally, it explores whether ethnic minorities are disproportionately concentrated in lower quality institutions.

Ethnic differences in labour market transitions: an exploration using the British household panel survey

The paper uses the first five waves of the British Household Panel Survey to explore the dynamics of the labour market experience of Britains ethnic minorities relative to the white majority. The issue to be explored is labour market transitions. Ethnic minorities are shown to exhibit greater volatility. Only panel data can reveal this important labour market effect. Overall, the British Household Panel Survey should be seen as a useful addition to increasing our knowledge of Britains ethnic minorities.