Economist Kerwin Charles, Ph.D. ’96, to give 2026 Staller Lecture

Kerwin Charles, Ph.D. '96, scholar of economics at Yale University, will present the 2026 Staller Lecture, "The Persistence of Racial Labor Market Inequality," on Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in Olin Hall, Rm. 155. The event is sponsored by the Department of Economics.

"Kerwin Charles brings a new perspective on classic but important problems," said Seth Sanders, the Ronald G. Ehrenberg Professor of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Donald C. Opatrny '74 Chair of the Department of Economics, who will introduce Charles at the lecture. "As is true in all professions, a breakthrough spawns work in its tradition for many years. What distinguishes Charles is his unique ability to step outside and ask, 'is this the right question to ask,' and then revise the question in a new and insightful way. We know much more about inequality in the labor market because of his insistence on making methods match the important question rather than settling for lesser questions that standard methods can answer."

Charles is the Indra K. Nooyi Dean and Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Economics, Policy, and Management at the Yale School of Management (SOM). Much of his broad-ranging scholarly work touches on dimensions of labor market inequality.

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.