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- Title
BRINGING THE SOLDIERS BACK IN: IMPLICATIONS OF INCLUSION OF MILITARY PERSONNEL FOR LABOR MARKET RESEARCH ON RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER.
- Authors
Booth, Brandford; Segal, David R.
- Abstract
This paper takes issue with the common methodological practice of excluding military personnel from populations being analyzed on the basis that such persons represent members of an "institutionalized population", not subject to the choices and constraints found within the labor market. This practice represents an 'institutionalization' of another sort—the perpetuation of a norm of research design that has its roots in an era when armed forces personnel were conscripted, but that is no longer realistic. We propose an alternative conceptualization, arguing that, because the military represents the nation's largest employer of African American men, the inclusion of service members in labor market research—particularly on racial inequality—helps our understanding of this area of inquiry. Data from the 1990 U.S. Census are used to test the hypothesis that individual military service is associated with reduced earnings inequality among black and white men employed full time. Findings indicate that, controlling for key individual characteristics including education and potential work experience, racial earnings inequality among men is significantly lower within the military. This suggests that by excluding military personnel from research designs, labor market scholars may be neglecting a factor that bears on our understanding of racial inequality. Military effects on racial inequality among women workers are also examined.
- Subjects
MILITARY personnel; INSTITUTIONALIZED persons; EQUALITY; LABOR market; ARMED Forces; RACE discrimination; HYPOTHESIS; AFRICAN Americans
- Publication
Race, Gender & Class, 2005, Vol 12, Issue 1, p34
- ISSN
1082-8354
- Publication type
Article