On the regional variability of minority/non-minority wage differentials

This paper assesses whether regional variability in the minority/non-minority wage gap exists and if it depends on state-specific factors such as political conservatism, antidiscriminatory policies, and the 'visibility' of minorities. We find an extreme variability in the minority/non-minority wage differential across states and that this gap narrows as minorities achieve a 'threshold' level which allows them to exert political and economic pressures on majority employers.