Social Connections and Racial Wage Inequality

How much of the wage gap between black workers and others in the US owes to differences in jobs found through social connections? Panel data from the NLSY79 are used to estimate a job search model in which individual human capital is distinguished from social capital by comparing the wages and frequency of jobs found directly with those of jobs found through friends. Jobs found through friends tend to pay more, but this premium is lower for black workers; the difference can account for 10% of the racial wage gap.