The Theory of Discrimination：（歧视的理论）.pdfVIP

Annals of Economics and Finance Forthcoming Article THE THEORY OF DISCRIMINAT ION by Kenneth J. Arrow l, Introduction ., ·The fact that different groups of workers, be they skilled or unskilled , black and white, or male and female, receive different wages, invites the explanation that the different groups must differ according .. to some characteristic valued on the market. In standard economic theory, .we think first of all of differences in productivity. The notion of discrimination involves the additional concept that personal characteristics of the worker that are unrelated to productivity are also valued on the market. Such personal characteris tics as race, ethnic background, and sex have been frequently adduced in this context. Discrimination in this paper is considered only as it appears on the market. Obviously, one can have discrimination in the same sense whenever decisions are made that concern other individuals, namely, that their personal characteristics other than those properly relevant enter into the decision. Deliberate racial segregation and discrimination in entrance to schools and colleges, deprivation of the right to vote along social and sexual lines, and discriminatory taxation are all examples of discrimination in non-market discrimination . It may as well be admitted that the term, discrimination, has value implications that can never be completely eradicated, though they can be sterilized for specific empirical and descriptive