ECONOMIC

ecause they have acquired more experience. On the other hand, it has beensuggested that the weekly wage for each week worked is higher in someseasonal occupations in which there are fewer weeks of employment duringthe year.EARNINGS DIFFERENTIALS BETWEEN GROUPSIn the last quarter century there has been substantial public concernwith the causes and consequences of the observed earnings differentialbetween groups differentiated by race and sex. This discussion has focusedon investments in training and current and past discrimination, as factorsthat may explain the differential.DISCRIMINATIONDiscrimination is said to exist when two or more groups that are differentiatedon the basis of some characteristic irrelevant to an objectivemeasure of productivity are not granted equal treatment in a particularactivity. The differentiating characteristic may be race, sex, ethnic origin,marital status, age, or physical appearance. Obviously some forms of discriminationgive rise to more social concern than others. Discriminationmay also take several forms: the way individuals and business firmsbehave in the market place for jobs, housing, credit, and other goods andservices; and discriminatory taxation or public expenditure policies bygovernment. It may be so closely interwoven with the culture of a societythat the stereotyping of roles is accepted by all with little or no question.The income and employment of an individual can be influenced by pastand present discrimination. Past discrimination affects the years and qualityof an individual's schooling and the path to his present occupation andtraining. Current discrimination affects incomes when two workers aregiven a different wage for the same productivity and restrictions are placedon a worker's occupational mobility.It is important to distinguish between the differences caused by discriminationand those from other causes. Observed differences between thewages or occupational distribution in two groups of individuals may be dueto discrimination or to factors entirely unrelated to discrimination. Becausemany important variables are not measurable, one cannot fully quantify theeffects of past or present discrimination on earnings and occupational choice.What can be quantified, however, is the extent of observed differencesbetween groups that remain after making allowance for what is measurable.RAGE DIFFERENTIALSData on the income or occupations of white and black males and femalesindicate a substantial racial difference that has persisted for the last century.** Almost 90 percent of nonwhites are bracks, but many of the available data do notdistinguish between blacks and other nonwhites.150