The dissertation explores the labor market effects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from practicing wage discrimination and employment dis- crimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin or color. A theoretical model of the equal wage and the equal employment provisions of Title Vll is developed and applied to the labor input decisions of a discriminating firm. The enforcement model is then extended to consider the market-wide wage and employment effects of Title Vll. The analysis raises questions as to whether Title Vll, as it is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, can in fact increase the market wages and improve the market employment opportunities of the workers who face discrimination in the labor market. The labor market wage and employment effects of Title VII under alternate enforcement strategies are also examined. / Ph. D.