African Americans in the U.S. Economy [Hardcover]

Cecilia Conrad (Author), Patrick Mason John Whitehead (Author), James Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742543773 | ISBN-13: 978-0742543775 | Publication Date: February 2, 2005

Over the last several decades, academic discourse on racial inequality has focused primarily on political and social issues with significantly less attention on the complex interplay between race and economics. African Americans in the U.S. Economy represents a contribution to recent scholarship that seeks to lessen this imbalance.

This book builds upon, and significantly extends, the principles, terminology, and methods of standard economics and black political economy. Influenced by path-breaking studies presented in several scholarly economic journals, this volume is designed to provide a political-economic analysis of the past and present economic status of African Americans.

The chapters in this volume represent the work of some of the nation's most distinguished scholars on the various topics presented. The individual chapters cover several well-defined areas, including black employment and unemployment, labor market discrimination, black entrepreneurship, racial economic inequality, urban revitalization, and black economic development. The book is written in a style free of the technical jargon that characterizes most economics textbooks. While the book is methodologically sophisticated, it is accessible to a wide range of students and the general public and will appeal to academicians and practitioners alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

African Americans in the U.S. Economy is an invaluable collection of essays for high school teachers, college professors, politicians, activists, and all people interested in the struggle for racial justice in the United States. The editors are to be congratulated for assembling an outstanding volume covering a very wide range of historical, theoretical, empirical, and policy issues relevant to the economic status of African Americans. (The Review Of Black Political Economy )

This book has a progressive perspective....could serve as a supplementary text for gender or labor courses. It brings a well-reasoned black perspective and explanation for issues that arise in growth, labor, public finance, and theory courses....insights are gained from a careful reading of this book. It is a welcome addition to the literature on race and the United States economy. (Eastern Economic Journal 2008 )

Highly recommended. (Choice )

About the Author

Cecilia A. Conrad is the Stedman-Sumner Professor of Economics at Pomona College. She has authored or edited several monographs, including Building Skills for Black Workers: Preparing for Future Labor Markets; is the current editor of The Review of Black Political Economy; and is an associate editor of Feminist Economics. She is a recipient of the 2002 California Professor of the Year Award, an honor presented by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

John Whitehead is professor of economics and African American studies at City College of San Francisco. He has written extensively on racial economic inequality and community economic development and is the coeditor, with Cobie Kwasi Harris, of Readings in Black Political Economy. He is the founder and chairperson of the Committee on the Impact of Globalization on U.S. Minorities.

Patrick Mason is associate professor of economics and director of the African American Studies Program at the Florida State University. He has authored or edited over forty journal articles, book chapters, and professional studies, including The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. He is currently chair of the Committee of the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession and is the past president of the National Economics Association.

James B. Stewart is professor of labor studies and industrial relations, African and African American studies, and management and organization at Penn State University. He has authored or edited numerous books including Black Families: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, served as editor of The Review of Black Political Economy, and served as president of the National Economics Association. Dr. Stewart recently completed two terms as president of the National Council for Black Studies (1997-2001).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (February 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742543773
• ISBN-13: 978-0742543775
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,579,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection of articles on black political economy, February 23, 2006

By 

Asatar Bair (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: African Americans in the U.S. Economy (Hardcover)

This new volume of essays on the emerging field of African American political economy is both provocative and remarkably comprehensive. It features articles by many of the leading thinkers in the field, such as Manning Marable, William Darity, Thomas Boston, Richard America, Cecilia Conrad, Patrick Mason and James Stewart (the last three are also among the book's editors). The book will make an excellent text for courses in political economy, history, sociology and economics which focus on the African American experience, as well as more general courses which seek a solid historical and theoretical analysis. The book was also selected as one of Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2005.

As the preface notes, the book is premised on two basic themes: first, the idea that race matters. Second, the idea that history matters. A reader outside the field of economics may be excused for wondering why these commonsense ideas could possibly be considered provocative. The simple answer is that most of the economics profession views both race and history as unimportant; race is seen as a temporary effect of market power, which perfect competition will eliminate, while history is seen as secondary to theory. A major theme of the book is the many shortcomings of this view.

The book is divided into nine sections, which take the reader through a rich set of theoretical and historical arguments, providing a deep context for understanding the current economic situation for the African American community. Early sections focus on the development of the `black labor force', discussing slavery, sharecropping, the uneven economic development of Europe and Africa, and the complex relationship between organized labor and African Americans.

The book is an extremely important attempt to grapple with the problem of race in the U.S. today, in all its complexity. It is recommended to all serious students of social theory.