African Americans point to racial biases in economics

BALTIMORE (AP) — The field of economics is facing an upheaval, with African American scholars decrying bias in the profession and presenting evidence that leading journals have failed to publish sufficient research that documents racial inequalities.

This tumult reflects racial dynamics at a delicate moment set against the backdrop of protests over the police killing of George Floyd that have thrust varying forms of bias into public consciousness. Though videos have illustrated police brutality against African Americans and others, the extent of racially driven economic problems is often less recognized.

President Donald Trump has cited the 5.8% unemployment rate for African Americans before the pandemic struck as evidence of improving racial equality. Yet that figure was nearly twice as high as the unemployment rate for whites. And it overlooks data on housing, wealth and student debt that point to vast racial inequalities. Leading research has shown that racial discrimination has not only slowed economic gains for black Americans but also depressed prosperity for America as a whole.

“We’re not tapping into the wealth of talent that we have," said Lisa Cook, an economist at Michigan State University who hosted a webinar this week that illustrated how segregation and racially motivated violence had, among other things, held back patent filings by African Americans. Because racism has diminished the role of black Americans in innovation, her research shows that the United States is effectively losing 4.4% of gross domestic product annually.

Cook asserted that all Americans should be concerned about the problem because without sufficient innovation, “our living standards are under threat.”

Widespread racial disparities are evident in the economics profession itself. A survey last year by the American...