The attitudes of many white customers were responsible for much
discrimination against black people in the United States in the first few
decades of the twentieth century. As long as these attitudes persist, so
will the discrimination, unless legislation forces a change.
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In the second case, discrimination is not supported by official government
policy but instead reflects the views of the firms’ managers. In this case,
there are economic pressures opposing the discrimination. For example, if
some firms discriminate against even well-qualified women, our analysis
in Figure 14-3 suggests there will be well-qualified women who can
only find low-wage jobs. There is an economic incentive for other, non-
discriminating firms to hire these well-qualified women and thereby
benefit from lower costs. If enough firms see this economic advantage