Résumé

This lecture will be a blend of informal social theory and personal memoir. Drawing on his published research over a period of four decades, but embellished with personal reflections from his life as a black American economist, Professor Glenn C. Loury will argue that the phenomena of collective reputations and selective associations along racial lines go a long way toward accounting for ongoing social disadvantages experienced by black Americans as a group. One aspect of the argument explores the combined effects of racial segregation in social networks on the opportunity and incentive to invest in market-rewarded skills, and on the implied dynamics of inequality between social groups. It is argued that racial inequality can persist, even in the absence of differences between groups in ability, or credit constraints, or labor market discrimination. Another, complementary aspect of this lecture explores the personal dilemmas, opportunities and challenges faced by an academic economist determined, at one and the same time, to affirm his intellectual integrity while laboring to advance the interests of "his people."

Référence

Glenn Loury (Brown University), « 1st Distinguised Lecture: Identity and Racial Inequality? », IAST General Seminar, Toulouse : IAST, 27 septembre 2018, 18h00–20h00, Manufacture des Tabacs, Amphitheater MB1.