To Investigate Whether or Not There Is Discrimination Against a Sub-Group

question 13

Essay

To investigate whether or not there is discrimination against a sub-group of individuals, you regress the log of earnings on determining variables, such as education, work experience, etc., and a binary variable which takes on the value of one for individuals in that sub-group and is zero otherwise. You consider two possible specifications. First you run two separate regressions, one for the observations that include the sub-group and one for the others. Second, you run a single regression, but allow for a binary variable to appear in the regression. Your professor suggests that the second equation is better for the task at hand, as long as you allow for a shift in both the intercept and the slopes. Explain her reasoning.

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Definitions:

Buying Center

A group within an organization responsible for making purchasing decisions.

Purchase Decision

The process and outcome of evaluating and choosing from available products or services, culminating in the act of buying.

Purchase Decision

The process and outcome of making a choice to buy a product or service after considering various factors and alternatives.

Award Contract

The act of formally selecting a vendor or supplier to provide goods or services through a contractual agreement after a bidding process.