Black economic well-being since the 1950s

Conclusion Industrial cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh that once offered manufacturing jobs as a route to economic advancement no longer provide an economic environment conducive to long-run gains in black incomes. Faced with massive losses in blue-collar manufacturing jobs in the 1970s and 1980s — as well as growing local government fiscal difficulties — these cities are changing rapidly in character. Administration and management are more and more the dynamic, expanding sector, and the resultant demands for workers have been concentrated in the white-collar fields. Highly educated blacks benefit from these trends in job availability; the less educated lose ground economically. The swing between widespread progress (as in World War II) and widespread regression in relative economic status (as in the 1930s) was the traditional cyclical fate of the overall urban black population. Today the smaller white-collar group prospers while the larger blue-collar urban black work force is undermined, except in periods of labor shortage.     

Changes in industry structure and technological convergence: implications for competition policy and regulation in telecommunications

The two leading US long-distance carriers—AT&T and MCI—have recently been acquired by two of the four major incumbent local exchange carriers—SBC and Verizon—and shortly thereafter, the new AT&T (SBC and the old AT&T) acquired BellSouth. Contemporaneously, alternatives to traditional voice communications provided by cable television and internet- based providers indicate a shifting of competition from a single voice market to the “triple play” of voice, video, and high-speed data. These developments imply a fundamentally different model of competition and industry structure than the one of “dominant firms” supplying essential inputs to new entrants for traditional voice service that was envisioned in the 1996 US Telecommunications Act, as implemented by Federal Communications Commission. In response to these developments, state governments, the FCC, and Canadian authorities have enacted legislative or regulatory changes that limit retail price regulation to services such as the basic residential telephone line. Approaches for assessing market power and other competitive issues that account for the specific characteristics of the emerging (converging) industry are also discussed. The paper concludes by describing the implications of the emerging nature of telecommunications competition for future ex ante and/or ex post regulation, market power assessment, continued regulation, and antitrust analyses.

SBA regional loan distribution to minorities

Summary We have shown in this paper a great disparity in the lending activities of a number of Small Business Administration regional offices. There were considerable differences between these regions on their rates of increase and then decline of loans and loan dollars issued over the 1968-1976 period and on their loans and loan dollars per unit population, small businesses, and small business employees. This was found to be the case both for minorities and for the population at large. This, however, is especially disturbing in the context of minority lending activity since SBA lending was the chief vehicle of the federal government’s minority economic development efforts from 1968 to 1976. The economic well-being of a great many minorities with ties to the small business sector was to a large measure affected unequally by the differential SBA lending rates between regions. In fact, insofar as the measures we have selected can be related to “need,” the policy seems to have been counterproductive, having concentrated lending activity precisely in the regions where minority small business in terms of population, employment, and numbers of establishments was strongest and by implication the “need” was least!     

Social bias in the recruitment of black elected officials in the United States

Conclusion Common to patterns found in other elites, the recruitment of the black elite is highly selective and biased towards certain kinds of individuals. Blacks who are female, not highly educated, who have low status occupation, or are not involved in conventional political activities are at a decisive disadvantage in the political arena. Serious obstacles, therefore, remain for the “average” Black—the overwhelming majority—who aspires to a political career.     

Insurance redlining and the process of discrimination

Insurance redlining and the racially discriminatory consequences of the sale of property insurance have been documented in several cities throughout the United States. In this study teams of “testers”—comparably qualified insurance consumers who differed only in the racial composition of the neighborhood of the homes they sought to insure—contacted three Milwaukee area insurance companies regarding the possibility of purchasing insurance for their homes. Though no blatantly discriminatory behavior was exhibited, agents representing these companies expressed a clear preference to pursue business in white communities and placed additional barriers in the way of testers from nonwhite neighborhoods. These findings parallel changes in other institutional sectors of the housing industry where blatantly discriminatory behavior has generally given way to more subtle forms of bias. Policy recommendations are offered to reduce existing racial disparities in the availability of insurance and to open up housing markets in general for minorities.     

The changing status of economic minorities, 1948–1977

Conclusion Our results indicate that the median income of economic minorities relative to that of whites does not adequately represent the entire income distribution. Among black males, for example, only the lower half of the income distribution experiences a significant change in relative income over the business cycle. The secular trend shows similar variation. Black men at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles experienced significant gains relative to whites in the 1965–77 period while there was little improvement among blacks in the 90th percentile. Using a measure of central tendency to generalize about the entire distribution of an economic minority is a dubious proposition. While this may seem like a trival point, it should be remembered that in today’s political climate such credence is being given to improvement in the general health of the economy as the best way to foster economic progress for economic minorities, while less general remedies, such as affirmative action, are rapidly being deemphasized.     

关于开发鄂西自治州民传体育旅游产业——促进民族经济发展的思考

鄂西自治州是湖北省少数民族的主要聚居地,在这里兴起并正式纳入湖北省少数民族传统体育项目的有11项之多。本文将在分析恩施体育旅游市场的现存问题的基础上,结合本地自身的特点,优势等方面,对恩施州少数民族传统体育旅游市场进行研究,旨在发展恩施少数民族传统体育资源,培育少数民族传统体育旅游市场,打造少数民族传统体育的特色品牌。     

Impact of preferential procurement policies on minority-owned businesses

Financial data on minority firms that compete for business in government and corporate set-aside programs reveal that these firms lag behind their nonminority counterparts in important respects. They are, relative to nonminorities, (1) less profitable, (2) younger, and (3) much more highly leveraged. Large-scale minority enterprises are no longer the rarity that they were 20 years ago. These firms have not, however, achieved parity with their nonminority cohorts, and their unique traits—especially undercapitalization—continue to reflect the vestiges of discrimination.     

Inequality in metropolitan industrial revenue bond programs

Industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) have become an increasingly popular, though expensive and controversial, tool of economic development at the state and local levels. That controversy has focused on the economic impact of IRBs: Whether or not they meet the intended goals of creating jobs and stabilizing the tax base of local communities, and whether the benefits are worth the costs. Though IRBs are often justified, at least in part, as a particularly useful program for older, urban, minority communities, little research has been done on the participation of racial minorities and women in IRB programs. This article examines Chicago’s IRB program and finds that minorities have not participated equitably. Racial minorities and women are underutilized in many firms receiving this form of publicly subsidized financial assistance, and minority-owned businesses receive a disproportionately small share of the loans. Policy recommendations are offered to assure equitable participation of racial minorities and women in IRB programs.     

Measuring Restrictiveness of Bilateral Trade Policies: A Comparison between Developed and Developing Countries

This paper compares the degree of openness to trade of three developed countries markets—the European Union, Japan, the United States—with that of three middle-income countries, namely Brazil, India, and China. A theoretically consistent protection measure—the Mercantilistic Trade Restrictiveness Index (MTRI)—is employed to average tariffs at different levels of aggregation. The computation relies on a comparative static applied general equilibrium model (Global Trade Analysis Project—GTAP) featuring imperfect competition as well as on the bilateral applied tariffs included in the most recent version of the GTAP database. Results provide a different picture from what could have been expected given the widely publicized diffusion of preferential schemes supposedly favoring developing countries exports. JEL no.  F17, C68, Q17     

Internationale Combinatie in de Ijzer-Industrie

„Gold is for the mistress—silver for the maid! Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.” „Good!” said the Baron, sitting in his hall, „But Iron—Cold Iron—is master of them all!” (From „Cold Iron”, by Rudyard Kipling.) Vele gegevens en getallen, in dit stuk voorkomende, zijn onder meer ontleend aan: Ministry of Reconstruction, Report of Committee on Trusts, London 1919,—George R. Carter, The Tendency towards Industrial Combination, London 1913,—Dr. H. Levy, Monopoly and Competition, London 1911,—H. W. Macrosty, Trust Movement in British Industry, London 1907,—J. M. Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, London 1920,—Balansen U. S. Steel Corporation,—P. de Roussiers, Les Syndicats industriels de producteurs en France, Paris 1901,—de leener, Les syndicats industriels en Belgique, Bruxelles 1904,—Et. Martin Saint Léon, Cartells et Trusts, Paris 1909,—Dr. H. Mannstaedt, Konzentration in der Eisenindustrie, Jena 1906,—Prof. Dr. A. Binz, Kohle und Eisen, Leipzig 1919,—Dr. L. D. Pesl, Das Dumping, München 1921,—J. Singer, Das Land der Monopole, Berlin 1913,—Prof. Dr. R. Liefmann, Kartelle und Trusts, Stuttgart 1920,—Dr. J. Grünzel, Ueber Kartelle, Leipzig 1902,—Th. Vogelstein, Organisationsformen der Eisenindustrie, Leipzig 1910,—Dr. W. Morgenroth, Die Exportpolitik der Kartelle, Leipzig 1907,—Ir. Landsberg, Ijzer en staal, Amsterdam 1919.     

Internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit — Fragmente zu einer Theorie internationaler Unternehmenstätigkeit

Summary International competitiveness — fragments of a theory on international entrepreneurial activity. — Contrary to the orthodox market conception — where firms’ decisions involve merely efficiency-oriented adaptation to ensure general equilibrium — a more pragmatic approach must take account of the endogenous character of market structures: The driving forces behind innovations — and hence “progress” — are the creation and exploitation of market imperfections by firms. As companies use their core skills worldwide, international competitiveness is determined on the firm level, thereby disposing of the traditional trade theory with its focus on the nation-state and a given endowment with ressources. “Creative destruction” must be viewed as an institutional change on a global basis, enterprises being the center pivot of dynamics in the course of which the means of internationalizing and internalizing business functions will differentiate more and more.

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Résumé Capacité de concurrence internationale: fragments d’une théorie de l’activité d’entreprise internationale. — Contrairement à la conception orthodoxe de marché — oú les décisions des entreprises consistent seulement d’adaptions orientées à l’efficience pour assurer l’équilibre général — une approche plus pragmatique doit considérer le caractére endogéne des structures de marché: la force motrice derriére les innovations et avec cela ?le progrés? sont la création et l’exploitation d’imperfections par des entreprises. Comme ceux-ci appliquent leurs connaissances essentielles universellement, la capacité de concurrence internationale est déterminée sur le niveau d’entreprise, ainsi disposant la théorie de commerce traditionnelle avec sa concentration sur l’état-nation et la dotation donnée en ressources. ?Destruction créative? doit être considérée comme un changement institutionnel de mesure universel oú les entreprises sont le pivot central d’un processus dynamique à la suite duquel les mesures d’internationaliser et d’internaliser les fonctions commerciales différencieront de plus en plus.

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Resumen Competencia international: elementos de una teoria sobre la actividad empresarial international. — Al contrario de la opinión ortodoxa sobre el mercado, donde las decisiones de los empresas implican simplemente una adaptatión de cara a la eficiencia para asegurar equilibrio general, un enfoque mas pragmático debe tener en cuenta el carácter endógeno de las estructuras de mercado: El motor detras de los innovaciones y por tanto del ?progreso? es la creation y explotaci?n por las empresas de imperfecciones en el mercado. Considerando que los empresas utilizan sus abilidades basicas en un contexte global, la competencia international se dètermina a nivel de empresa lo que permite prescindir de la teoria traditional del comercio internacional con su èmfasis en los conceptos de estado national y riqueza de recursos. ?Destruction creativa? debe ser observada como cambio institucional a nivel global, con las companias constituyendo el centro del proceso dinámico en el curso del cual los medios de internacionalizar e internalizar funciones empresariales darám origen a diferencias cada vez más grandes.

     

The Economic Determinants of the Number of Minority Farmers in the Southeast Region of the United States, 1969-1997

The primary purpose of this research was to identify and quantify the determinants of the number of minority farmers in the Southeast region of the United States during the time period, 1969 to 1997. A second objective was to determine the potential impacts of globalization and international trade agreements on the number of minority farmers in the Southeast region of the United States. Regression results indicated that the number of minority farm owners was responsive to the returns to agricultural labor relative to nonfarm labor returns, as well as to cotton and rice prices. An increase in the cotton price was associated with a smaller rate of minority migration out of agriculture in the Southeast region of the United States. To the extent that globalization is likely to result in higher cotton export prices, international agricultural trade agreements are likely to result in decreased movement of minority farmers out of agriculture in the Southeast region of the United States. A third objective was to compare occupational migration rates out of agriculture of minorities with farmers of all races in the Southeast region. The data demonstrate that minority farm owners exhibited distinctly different migration patterns relative to all farm owners during 1969–1997.     

Decomposing Wage Gaps between Ethnic Groups: The Case of Israel

Past investigations of the income gaps between Jews and non-Jews in Israel treat non-Jews as one group. In this paper we separate the non-Jewish group into three main religious minorities: Muslims, Christians, and Druze and focus on the northern part of Israel, where most minorities live. Using the latest Israeli census, we find significant explained and unexplained income gaps in favor of Jews. The unexplained gaps tend to be larger the more educated the individual. Jews have much higher representation in the more lucrative occupations, and earn significantly more in them. Muslims generally suffer from the largest income gaps, while Druze have the lowest income gaps, reflecting direct and indirect benefits reaped from serving in the army. Among minorities, Christians are the most educated and most concentrated in the top occupations, which explains why they have the lowest gaps in the highest percentiles of the income distribution.     

Immigrant Struggles in New Orleans Post-Katrina

Race relations in New Orleans have often been narrowed to Black and white, especially pre-Katrina. According to the 2000 census, the city was about 67% African American, 27% white, 2% Asian, and 3% “Hispanic.” In a city with a deep history of racial tensions between Black and white, other people of color—and especially recent immigrants—often went unmentioned in discussions of city demographics. The city’s world famous culture—whether in the traditions of Mardi Gras Indians and secondline parades, or in music like jazz and bounce—is also famously rooted in specifically African cultures. Even in media coverage of the city post-Katrina, the story of immigrant experiences has remained mostly invisible. When these stories have been told, they have often fit into the old stereotypes of “model minorities” (as in the case of the Vietnamese recovery) or of low-wage workers stealing jobs (as in the case of news reports on the city’s new Latino population). However, the stories of these other New Orleanians offer an important lens through which to view the overall struggle over the city’s recovery. And the work of grassroots activists from these communities, who strived to not only work for justice for their friends and neighbors, but also to build broad multi-racial alliances, provides an inspiring example for people in other cities who are waging similar fights.     

Increasing Diversity in Telecommunications Ownership and Increasing Efficiency in Spectrum Auctions by Breaking the Link Between Capital Market Discrimination and FCC Spectrum Auction Outcomes

In Section 309(j)4(D) of the Communications Act, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is required to increase opportunities for minority groups to participate in the provision of spectrum based services. In Adarand Construction, Inc. v. Pena, the Supreme Court held that race-based government programs were subject to strict scrutiny. That is race-based programs must serve a compelling governmental interest such as remedying past discrimination, and must be narrowly tailored to serve that interest. Against this backdrop, a simple theoretical model is developed that explains the relationship between capital market discrimination and outcomes in FCC spectrum auctions. Given capital market discrimination and all other factors being equal, it is shown that a minority firm has zero probability of winning in an auction for spectrum. In addition, it is proven that, if equal bidding credits are given to all firms, if there is capital market discrimination, and if all other things are equal, the minority firm has a zero probability of winning in a spectrum auction. It is shown that a policy of auctioning spectrum, when there is capital market discrimination, is an inferior policy among policies that can be used to allocate spectrum. Finally, a policy of auctioning spectrum, when there is capital market discrimination, results in an inefficient auction. These theoretical results and the empirical literature on capital market discrimination suggest that the FCC is implicitly discriminating against minorities through its auctioning of spectrum under conditions of discrimination in capital markets. The results imply that race-based programs are necessary/justified in order to increase diversity in telecommunications ownership and increase the efficiency of FCC Spectrum Auctions. Given possible legal remedies, the paper contains a critical “audit”/analysis of the FCC’s lending practices under the FCC’s installment payments. Legislative proposals for creating some new form of credit/installment payment in conjunction with some experienced financial institution(s) are summarized and reviewed.     

中国少数民族文化典籍翻译探究

中国是一个统一的多民族国家,55个少数民族传统文化源远流长,从全球视角分析中国少数民族文化传承与传播具有重要而现实的意义。本文在解读典籍和民族典籍理论的基础上,揭示了中国少数民族典籍翻译的价值,同是也依据语言翻译学理论探析了民族典籍翻译发展的要素。     

The changing nature of minority business: A comparative analysis of asian,nonminority, and black-owned businesses

This study compares the performance of small businesses formed between 1976 and 1982 by three groups: 1) Asian males, 2) black males, and 3) nonminority males. Self-employed Asians are outperforming nonminorities and blacks. A subset of black-owned firms—small scale ghetto-oriented operations—is shown to be laggard. Weak internal markets, commercial bank redlining, and loss of entrepreneurial talent are factors in undermining the inner city black business community. Successful black-owned firms are increasingly removed from the ghetto and from serving a minority clientele.     

Housing Loan Patterns Toward Minority Borrowers in Mississippi: Analysis of Some Micro Data Evidence of Redlining

We apply a cross-regional probit analysis to examine the existence or otherwise of the discriminatory practice of “redlining” in housing loan lending practices of banks in Mississippi. Data on loan denial rates across three Mississippi regions of Tri-County Metro-Jackson, Southern Mississippi Corridor, and the Northern district are studied to determine the pattern of bank lending activities regarding owner-occupied housing loan extensions to minority members of Mississippi's population. The purpose is to determine the degree to which the banks have or have not observed fair and equitable lending practices toward minority borrowers, relative to the members of the majority population. The results suggest that there is a consistently high denial rates against minorities. The results indicate strong evidence of redlining practices in housing loan decisions, which contribute to the growth of racial segregation in the state.

Minority Faculty Hiring Power in Academe: an Economic Model

This paper investigates whether minorities in academe exercise bargaining power in a way that influences hiring of other minority faculty. We develop a stylized model that shows how minorities influence the hiring of other minorities, taking into account the hiring of majority faculty. We postulate that such behavior is similar to the behavior of insider workers in the context of the insider-outsider literature.