The question is whether disparity is as limiting a factor in labor markets, loans, and education as people think. The worry is that the concept of disparity has turned into discrimination. Not every disparity is discrimination. It has been purposefully confused in the culture over the last two years. Some people believe that when a disparity gets too big, it must be discrimination, but there is no statistical test for 'too big'.
Can economics and better measurement help us understand racial disparities and suggest how to reduce or eliminate them? Economist Roland Fryer of Harvard University believes deeply in the power of data to help us understand how the world works and how we might change it. Listen as he tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts of his devotion to this mission, what he learned from his grandmother, and what colleges can do if they really want to increase minority enrollment.