2021/06/01 by Jennifer L. Doleac · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Psychology · #Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research #Income, Poverty, and Inequality #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Unintended consequences #Government (linguistics) #Economic interventionism #Psychological intervention #Intervention (counseling) #Socioeconomic status #Public economics #Empirical evidence #Economics #Political science #Development economics #Sociology #Psychology #Law #Population
paper · doi:10.1257/jel.20201541
openalex publication_date 2021/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
In Discrimination and Disparities, Thomas Sowell describes how economists think about the causes of disparities in socioeconomic outcomes. He cautions against government intervention to reduce disparities, noting that such interventions often have unintended consequences. In this review, I discuss the role of economic theory and empirical evidence in helping move society toward more equitable outcomes. I find far more reason to be hopeful about the role of government than Sowell does, but also argue for more experimentation and rigorous evaluation to be sure that our well-intentioned policies have their intended impacts. (JEL D63, J15, J16, J71, J78)