Racial Justice and Economics: A Crucial Pairing

Partner Event with USC Price Talks

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William Spriggs |Professor in, Former Chair of the Department of Economics Howard University and Chief Economist, AFL-CIO

Dana Goldman |Interim Dean, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and Leonard D. Schaeffer Director’s Chair, USC Schaeffer Center

Introduced by Dana Goldman, William Spriggs illustrates that race and racism have long been intertwined with economics, and uniquely so in the United States. Defining of race in Plessy v. Ferguson, redlining practices, treating race as "exogenous" in economic analysis, and predatory lending all follow a through-line of systemic racism infiltrating (and weakening) the economy. Richard Green follows up with questions regarding Sprigg's open letter to economists posted publicly at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the real consequences of race as a social construct, the case for reparations in economic models, and more.

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