Sociological Perspectives on Racial Discrimination

TLDR

Racial discrimination has long been a central topic in sociology, yet the discipline and economics have historically approached it differently, and recent cross‑disciplinary influence suggests that exposing economists to sociological perspectives would benefit both fields. The authors present six sociological propositions that they argue economists should adopt. They contend that economists should study institutional discrimination—both organizational and legal—regardless of taste or statistical discrimination, recognizing that contemporary actors’ discriminatory decisions may be immaterial, that institutional discrimination channels past discrimination into present outcomes, that everyday interpersonal discrimination can be highly consequential, and that actors’ perceptions of having experienced discrimination merit separate attention.

Abstract

As in economics, racial discrimination has long been a focus of research in sociology. Yet the disciplines traditionally have differed in how they approach the topic. While some studies in recent years show signs of cross-disciplinary influence, exposing more economists to sociological perspectives on racial discrimination would benefit both fields. We offer six propositions from the sociology of racial discrimination that we believe economists should note. We argue that independent of taste and statistical discrimination, economists should study institutional discrimination; that institutional discrimination can take at least two forms, organizational and legal; that in both forms the decisions of a contemporary actor to discriminate can be immaterial; that institutional discrimination is a vehicle through which past discrimination has contemporary consequences; that minor forms of everyday interpersonal discrimination can be highly consequential; and that whether actors perceive they have experienced discrimination deserves attention in its own right.