An investigation of the economic consequences of minority discrimination is under way in the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and the Department of Economics.
Facts gleaned from the work should help promote the institute’s mission to educate communities about the harmful effects of racism and its legacies so that, armed with good information, they can begin to create more vibrant, healthy communities for everyone, said institute director Susan Glisson.
“The board [of the institute] believes, and we agree, that while many people may engage in the work of the institute because it is the right thing to do, others may be prodded to join us because of pragmatic reasons or those reasons that appeal to self-interest,” Glisson said.
Projects include research by Jon Moen, associate professor of economics, who is addressing the question: What would per capita income in Mississippi have been if economic growth after 1880 had continued in the absence of economic discrimination and exclusion for a significant part of the population?
“This gives a counterfactual estimate of lost economic opportunities arising from limiting a large share of the population from full access to the economy,” Moen said.
The collaboration between the Winter Institute and the economics department also funds work by Andrew Young, assistant professor of economics, and Johnny Ducking, a second-year graduate student and Mississippi Delta native.
Using county-level data from Mississippi, Young and Ducking will apply income growth theory to identify the underlying determinants of the negative association between economic growth and the percent of a population that is African American. The ultimate aim, said Young, is “to put aside misperceptions about race and poverty in Mississippi and gain a constructive understanding of the problem.”