Brendan O’Flaherty brings the tools of economic analysis―incentives; equilibrium; optimization; and more―to bear on contentious issues of race in the United States. In areas ranging from quality of health care and education; to employment opportunities and housing; to levels of wealth and crime; he shows how racial differences among blacks; whites; Hispanics; and Asian Americans remain a powerful determinant in the lives of twenty-first-century Americans. More capacious than standard texts; The Economics of Race in the United States discusses important aspects of history and culture and explores race as a social and biological construct to make a compelling argument for why race must play a major role in economic and public policy. People are not color-blind; and so policies cannot be color-blind either.Because his book addresses many topics; not just a single area such as labor or housing; surprising threads of connection emerge in the course of O’Flaherty’s analysis. For example; eliminating discrimination in the workplace will not equalize earnings as long as educational achievement varies by race―and educational achievement will vary by race as long as housing and marriage markets vary by race. No single engine of racial equality in one area of social and economic life is strong enough to pull the entire train by itself. Progress in one place is often constrained by diminishing marginal returns in another. Good policies can make a difference; and only careful analysis can figure out which policies those are.
#1300229 in Books 2015-11-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 1.40 x 6.50l; .0 #File Name: 0674088689480 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Lawrence SchoferArrived promptly.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Excellent research; excellent read!By Erin CorberEthan Katz’s outstanding monograph is a timely and thoughtful reflection on the working and imagined relationships between Jews and Muslims in France and North Africa in the Twentieth century. It is not unimportant that days after the attacks on Paris on 13 November 2015; representatives of the Parisian Jewish community stood in solidarity with Muslims; at a memorial service outside the Bataclan night club; to disavow “hate.†Katz’s fascinating book demonstrates the myriad ways in which Jewish and Muslim lives have interacted and intersected; and in often surprising ways; and convincingly argues "Jewish' and 'Muslim' have been highly amorphous; contingent; ever-shifting categories in modern France; constructed from both outside and within."In a climate of rising Antisemitism; Islamophobia; and more general xenophobia on national and global levels; this is a welcome contribution to both academic and public discourses on diversity and diaspora.As a fellow historian of modern France and French Jewry; I can say this book advances the field in a number of ways – but above all - by gracefully recasting French history beyond the “hexagon.†More than a simple colonial story; North Africa and France emerge together holistically in Katz’s narrative – a geographic; economic; cultural; and imaginary world shared by diverse peoples and networks across the Mediterranean. As such; his characters - Jews; Muslims; and other Frenchmen – come across as complex and; frankly; intriguing in ways not often showcased in scholarship that overlooks the “global†France at the heart of Katz’s research.Beyond its many scholarly strengths; this book is an exceptionally good read. Each chapter explores a conflict or turning point in modern French history into which Katz draws his readers. Katz uses a variety of sources to build his stories; bringing readers even closer to the individuals and families that drive this narrative. Of particular note to my own interests was the author’s discussion of Jews and Muslims under the Vichy regime during the Second World War. Katz also does an extraordinary job of explaining the complexities of the Algerian war and decolonization; and the dilemmas these events posed for Jews and Muslims from North Africa as well as mainland France.This book is an interesting and enjoyable book for specialists and non-specialists alike; and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of France and her colonies; Jews and/or Muslims; or Twentieth century history; more generally.
