Dartmouth Events

The Department of Economics is pleased to sponsor this lecture series to deepen Dartmouth students' understanding of the role of inequality, discrimination, and opportunity in society and to highlight how economics can increase our understanding of these phenomena and inform policy responses.

“The Causes and Consequences of Discrimination: Lessons from (and for) Economics”

Abstract:
A robust economics literature demonstrates the on-going existence of racial discrimination across a range of domains – from labor and housing markets to the criminal justice system. Yet, we know little about the causes of racial prejudice, and even less about its consequences for marginalized groups. How do experiences of discrimination – or perceptions thereof - affect the beliefs, behaviors, and aspirations of racial minorities? Drawing on recent empirical research, this talk explores how discrimination shapes the minority experience in America. Understanding these dynamics is essential not only for diagnosing persistent racial inequalities, but also for imagining policies that disrupt their reproduction.

Desmond Ang is an applied economist and associate professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. His research examines the causes and consequences of racial discrimination and has been published in leading journals including American Economic Review, American Political Science Review, and Quarterly Journal of Economics. Desmond received his PhD in economics from University of California, San Diego and his B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Co-Sponsored with:  Sadie Alexander Association