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.
As Dean of SOM, Charles has overseen the creation of the Broad Center at Yale SOM for training education leaders, worked with the City of New Haven to establish the Yale/New Haven Center for Inclusive Growth, launched a new degree in Asset Management, and introduced two new joint degrees with the Yale School of Engineering.
In his scholarly work, he has published on a range of topics in labor and applied economics, with much of his work touching on different dimensions of labor market inequality.
“Charles ties the economic theory with new facts to clarify crucial social issues,” said Ryan Chahrour, the Ernest S. Liu Professor of Economics and International Studies (A&S), who is organizing this year’s lecture. “He is a master at seeing into the key issues and speaking to them with clarity.”
Students interested in learning how social science research can address social inequality should not miss this lecture, Chahrour said.
Charles has served as the vice president of the American Economic Association and is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economics, the American Academy of Political and Social Science and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
The George Staller Lecture is a Cornell economics tradition made possible by a gift from Russell B. Hawkins '77. This annual lecture is open to the public and is highly recommended to all members of the Cornell economics community, said Chahrour.
