Race and Ethnicity

The persistence of substantial racial and ethnic disparities in economic outcomes is an especially visible reminder that opportunities to get ahead remain starkly unequal. For scholars of race and ethnicity, the main research tasks are to document how racial disparities in education, marriage, and labor market outcomes are changing, how they are generated, and how they might be reduced.

Education

Are racial and ethnic differences in grades, high school graduation, college attendance, and college completion growing smaller or larger? What types of policy interventions might close racial and ethnic gaps in educational attainment?

Marriage and friendship

Why are interracial marriages becoming more common? Does this increase in interracial marriages serve to reduce racial and ethnic prejudices?

Labor market

What accounts for racial and ethnic differences in hiring, promotion, and pay? How important is discrimination in accounting for these differences? Are such differences growing larger or smaller?