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The cover of Discrimination and Disparities

Discrimination and Disparities

Thomas Sowell

Do statistical differences in outcomes between groups prove biased treatment or genetic deficiency?

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At a glance

Author
Thomas Sowell

Why read it

  • You will question whether differences between groups must come from bias, by checking the premises and facts behind the claim
  • You will weigh the claim that unearned advantages justify redistribution by politicians, which the author calls a non sequitur
  • You will notice how statistics can mislead when numbers that disagree with a favored story are left out

Who it is for

  • Reader who hears claims of bias and wants to check the data
  • Economics or sociology student weighing rival explanations
  • Anyone tired of social debates driven by slogans

Contents

  1. PREFACE
  2. Chapter 1
  3. Disparities and Prerequisites
  4. PREREQUISITES AND PROBABILITIES
  5. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
  6. People
  7. Institutions
  8. Nature
  9. IMPLICATIONS
  10. Geography
  11. Demography
  12. The Lure of Determinism
  13. Chapter 2
  14. Discrimination: Meanings and Costs
  15. MEANINGS OF DISCRIMINATION
  16. SIDEBAR: FACTORS BEHIND PRICE DIFFERENCES
  17. COSTS OF DISCRIMINATION
  18. Causation
  19. Costs and Their Effects
  20. South Africa Under Apartheid
  21. Institutional Incentives and Constraints
  22. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
  23. Minimum Wage Laws
  24. Building Restrictions
  25. Chapter 3
  26. Sorting and Unsorting People
  27. RESIDENTIAL SORTING AND UNSORTING
  28. Residential and Social Self-Sorting
  29. SIDEBAR: FEAR OF RETROGRESSION
  30. The Prevalence of Sorting
  31. Imposed Residential and Social Sorting
  32. Causation
  33. UNSORTING PEOPLE
  34. Educational Unsorting
  35. Residential Unsorting
  36. “Disparate Impact” in Employment
  37. Chapter 4
  38. The World of Numbers
  39. ERRORS OF OMISSION
  40. Group Disparities
  41. Household Income Statistics
  42. Time and Turnover
  43. Crime Statistics and Arrest Statistics
  44. ERRORS OF COMMISSION
  45. Capital Gains
  46. SIDEBAR: CAPITAL GAINS AND INEQUALITY
  47. Racial and Ethnic Disparities
  48. Minimum Wages and Unemployment
  49. IMPLICATIONS
  50. Chapter 5
  51. The World of Words
  52. EMOTIONS VERSUS CAUSATION
  53. CHANGING WORDS AND MEANINGS
  54. “Diversity”
  55. Ex Ante Words and Ex Post Meanings
  56. “Violence”
  57. “Change”
  58. SIDEBAR: THE CRASH AND THE INTERVENTIONS
  59. OTHER PEOPLE’S WORDS
  60. “Trickle-Down” Theory

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