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Bridging barriers: how COVID-19 changed racial diversity in economics seminars

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  • Biermann, Marcus

Abstract

In this paper, new facts are documented on the racial distribution of seminar speakers in economics. From a sample of 270 institutions, I determined that before the COVID-19 pandemic, 82.5% of seminars were given by White speakers, 13.9% of seminars were given by Asian speakers, and 3.6% by speakers with a Hispanic-Latino or Black background. The racial distribution of speakers did not change globally. However, the share of speakers from underrepresented minorities in the United States almost doubled with the introduction of virtual seminars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Biermann, Marcus, 2025. "Bridging barriers: how COVID-19 changed racial diversity in economics seminars," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128118, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:128118
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/128118/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marlène Koffi & Roland Pongou & Leonard Wantchekon, 2024. "Racial Inequality and Publication in Economics," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 114, pages 300-304, May.
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    6. Benjamin Edelman & Michael Luca & Dan Svirsky, 2017. "Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 1-22, April.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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