The Costs of Diversity on Whaling Ships

Eric Hilt is an economic historian at Wellesley College. He says that racial conflict may not be the only thing that could lead to lower productivity. In a more diverse whaling crew, it may be that not all workers have equally strong incentives to work as hard as they can. What was life like on board the Pequot, the whaling ship in Moby Dick? After the break, we try to get a feel for that.