| The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the gains experienced by black males, who began their careers in the late 1960's, represented vintage or life-cycle effects within occupations. The five occupational categories used in the study were: professional and technical workers, clerical workers, operatives, laborers, and service workers.;Separate earnings functions were estimated for black and white males for each occupational category for 1968-69, 1973-74, and 1978-79. Using the earnings estimates from these equations, ratios of actual black-white male earnings to black-white male earnings in the absence of discrimination were derived. These ratios were then compared for each occupational category for the time periods 1968-69, 1973-74, and 1978-79 to determine if vintage or life-cycle effects dominated.;The findings of this study revealed that life-cycle effects were dominate for all five occupational categories. However, the degree of life-cycle effects and discrimination were found to vary according to occupation. In 1968-69, discrimination was found to exist in all occupational categories except service workers. However, by 1978-79, discrimination for the most part was found to have disappeared in all occupational categories except laborers.;The major conclusion of this study was that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been effective in reducing discrimination in the labor market for those black males who began their careers in the late 1960's had twelve or more years of formal education, and were employed full-time. Therefore, enforcement of the Civil Rights Act should be continued along with policies which provide educational assistance to blacks.;Data for this study were obtained from the Current Population Survey tapes (March Supplement) for 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1978, and 1979. Observations were selected for those black and white males who began their careers between 1964 and 1969, had twelve or more years of formal education, and were employed full-time. |
