In what ways do the effects of historically discriminatory government policies linger today, and what scope exists to reduce their remaining harms? And does under-representation of minority groups in the ranks of government officials necessarily undermine the de facto fairness of de jure impartial institutions? Recent research provides insight into these questions, as well as into the implications of changing the way that race itself is conceptualized in empirical discrimination research.
The afternoon session includes research examining how citizens’ experiences with the government – and their ultimate well-being – may be influenced by how well their identities align with those of public-facing officials who possess discretionary decision-making power, in contexts as varied as the allocation of veterans’ benefits in the 19th century United States and judicial proceedings in modern India. Finally, the session concludes with a discussion of the implications of formally incorporating racial identity as a social construct, rather than implicitly as a biological fact, for empirical research on discrimination.
- “The Enduring Effects of Racial Discrimination on Income and Health: Evidence from American Civil War Veterans”. Speakers: Shari Eli, Trevon Logan and Boriana Miloucheva
- “Measuring Gender and Religious Bias in the Indian Judiciary”. Speakers: Sam Asher and Paul Novosad
- “A Constructivist Perspective on Quantitative Discrimination Research”. Speakers: Evan Rose
Discussants: Rebecca (Linchi) Hsu, Yusuf Neggers and William Bunting
Contact: Yale MacMillan Center Inclusion Economics Yale, inclusion.economics@yale.edu, https://ie.yale.edu