Racial Inequality and Salience: An Examination of Blau's Theory of Social Structure

Hypotheses derived from Blau's theory of social structure are tested with his 1970 data set. Rates of interracial marriage are inversely associated with various measures of racial inequality across the largestsmsas. Racial inequality is associated with racial salience, the predominance of ingroup relations, in the positive direction. The concept of salience is explicitly incorporated in the examination of a theoretical paradox in Blau's theory.