The Economics of Race in the United States
Brendan O´flaherty
Brendan O’Flaherty brings the tools of economic analysis—incentives, equilibrium, optimization, and more—to bear on contentious issues of race in the United States. In areas ranging from quality of health care and education, to employment opportunities and housing, to levels of wealth and crime, he shows how racial differences among blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans remain a powerful determinant in the lives of twenty-first-century Americans. More capacious than standard texts, The Economics of Race in the United States discusses important aspects of history and culture and explores race as a social and biological construct to make a compelling argument for why race must play a major role in economic and public policy. People are not color-blind, and so policies cannot be color-blind either.
Because his book addresses many topics, not just a single area such as labor or housing, surprising threads of connection emerge in the course of O’Flaherty’s analysis. For example, eliminating discrimination in the workplace will not equalize earnings as long as educational achievement varies by race—and educational achievement will vary by race as long as housing and marriage markets vary by race. No single engine of racial equality in one area of social and economic life is strong enough to pull the entire train by itself. Progress in one place is often constrained by diminishing marginal returns in another. Good policies can make a difference, and only careful analysis can figure out which policies those are.
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About Brendan O´flaherty
Reviews for The Economics of Race in the United States
Paul Flahive
Texas Public Radio
A harsh, undeniable fact about U.S. society is that socioeconomic status is stratified by race and ethnicity. The contribution of economists to the study of the contentious issues of race and ethnicity has been minimal
that is, until O’Flaherty crafted this pathbreaking study that shows how racial differences among blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans remain a powerful determinant in the lives of 21st-century Americans. The author should be praised for striking a fine balance of applied economic theory and empirical analysis of the U.S. Census to explore and analyze socioeconomic status by intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender. All relevant topics are covered in the book, including gaps in education, income, employment, health, and levels of incarceration. Because racial inequality continues in the 21st century, and renewed racial tensions are actually simmering, this book is undoubtedly timely and the must-read text for anyone in the social sciences interested in surveying the economics of race and racism in the U.S.
S. Chaudhuri
Choice
A terrific contribution to the literature on race and economics.
Ingrid Gould Ellen, New York University An amazing book that should become a standard reference and must-read text for economists and other social scientists who study race and racial inequality. It is both deep and comprehensive, and has several blinding insights relating racial inequality to the fundamental workings of society.
Steven Raphael, University of California, Berkeley