Labor Market Discrimination and the Racial Unemployment Gap: Can Monetary Policy Make a Difference?
中文摘要
黑人工人的失业率高于白人工人且波动更大,这一种族差距无法由可观测变量解释。一个包含摩擦性劳动力市场、内生离职与雇主歧视的新凯恩斯模型能够解释这些结果。我们利用该模型评估不同的货币政策策略如何影响分种族的劳动力市场结果。将货币政策规则改为让利率对就业相对其最大水平的缺口而非对偏离作出反应,会提高通胀,且不会缩小种族失业率差距。让利率对种族失业率差距作出反应的货币政策规则同样未能缩小该差距。(JEL E12, E24, E43, E52, J15, J63, J71)
Abstract
Black workers experience higher, more volatile unemployment than White workers, a racial disparity unexplained by observables. A New Keynesian model with a frictional labor market, endogenous separations, and employer discrimination explains these outcomes. We use the model to assess how alternative monetary policy strategies affect labor market outcomes by race. Switching to a monetary policy rule where interest rates respond to shortfalls of employment from its maximum level instead of deviations raises inflation and does not reduce the racial unemployment gap. A monetary policy rule where interest rates respond to the racial unemployment gap also fails to reduce the gap. (JEL E12, E24, E43, E52, J15, J63, J71)