The speaker learned a valuable lesson on economics and game theory, emphasizing the importance of combining rigor with intuition in analysis. This lesson was reinforced when they encountered a paper by Derek Neal and Bill Johnson, which challenged their existing understanding of discrimination in wages. The paper presented data showing that when accounting for skill differences, the wage gap between black and white employees decreased significantly, highlighting the importance of rigorous analysis in understanding complex issues such as discrimination in the workforce.
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.