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Antidiscrimination Law, John Donohue

John Donohue

This essay provides an overview of the central theoretical law and economics insights and empirical findings concerning antidiscrimination law across a variety of contexts including discrimination in labor markets, housing markets, consumer purchases, and policing. The different models of discrimination based on animus, statistical discrimination, and cartel exploitation are analyzed for both race and sex discrimination. I explore the theoretical arguments for prohibiting private discriminatory conduct in light of the tensions that exist between concerns for liberty and equality. I also discuss the complexities in empirically establishing the existence of discrimination and highlight the critical point that one cannot automatically …