Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
Race Discrimination: An Economic Perspective
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 34,
no. 2, Spring 2020
(pp. 68–89)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We review the empirical literature in economics on discrimination in the labor market and criminal justice system, focusing primarily on discrimination by race. We then discuss theoretical models of taste-based discrimination, particularly models of frictional labor markets and models of statistical discrimination, including recent work on invalid statistical discrimination. We explore and evaluate the evidence for and against these theories. Although there is substantial evidence of the existence of discrimination, little is known about the extent to which disparities are driven by discrimination. Finally, we argue that economists miss the important self-enforcing relationship between disparities and discrimination and the effect of disparities in one domain on discrimination in other domains.Citation
Lang, Kevin, and Ariella Kahn-Lang Spitzer. 2020. "Race Discrimination: An Economic Perspective." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34 (2): 68–89. DOI: 10.1257/jep.34.2.68Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J71 Labor Discrimination
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
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