Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for The Brookings Institution, Randall Akee evaluates diversity in economics and why there is less representation of women and minorities in these professions. 

· What can be done to increase diversity in economics? Why is economic representation important? 

· Learn about the different barriers to wealth equality that black Americans face.

On January 3, 2020 at the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) annual meetings in San Diego, California—the largest annual gathering of economists—I participated in a panel hosted by the American Economics Association (AEA) titled, “How Can Economics Solve Its Race Problem?” The panel was convened by Janet Yellen, Former Federal Reserve Board Chair, current AEA President, and Distinguished Fellow in Residence at Brookings, and moderated by Ebonya Washington, the Samuel C. Park Jr. Professor of Economics at Yale University. Fellow panelists included Drs. Trevon Logan, Marie Mora, Ted Miguel and Cecilia Conrad.

This was the first time in many years that such a panel was held at the ASSA meetings. Nevertheless, this has been an important topic of concern for many in the profession for decades. For instance, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Economics Association (NEA), which grew out of the Caucus of Black Economists and was established, in part, to “promote the professional lives of minorities within the profession.” The NEA has inspired the founding and creation of additional organizations with related missions, such as the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE), founded in 2002, and the Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples (AERIP), founded just last year and for which I serve as the president-elect.

The economics profession is less diverse than the general population by race and gender. The lack of diversity has received increased attention in recent years due to incidents that have come to light about harassmentand discrimination in the profession for women and minorities both online and in employment situations. The disparities in the economics profession are quite stark. Only 30 percent of Ph.D. economists in the federal government and 23 percent of economics faculty in academia are women. Twenty-four percent of Ph.D. economists in the federal government and 21 percent of economics faculty in academia are minorities (Black, Hispanic, Asian, and other minorities).

Read the full article about the race problem in economics by Randall Akee at The Brookings Institution.