Race and Gender in the US Economy

Constitutional and Market Imperatives is the first economic and legal analysis of the economic status of women and Asian, Black, and Latinx Americans in the United States. Building on his decades of expertise, Gerald Jaynes argues that many economists undervalue the impact that changing antidiscrimination laws had on the behavioral norms of the American people as men and women fought to end discrimination in America’s markets and other institutions. These fights often happened outside the economic marketplace—in courts, legislative bodies, and social institutions—and succeeded in improving the economic status of people of color and women. Blending economic reasoning and data with bold historical narrative, this book examines the changing economic status of minoritized groups within the context of developing constitutional law, extending from the Thirteenth Amendment's abolition of slavery to and beyond the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Jaynes provides readers with an insightful new way of looking at long-standing issues concerning the effectiveness of political action in determining economic gains.