Sociology Department Colloquium: Dan Hirschman

Cornell University Associate Professor Dan Hirschman will present, “The Stylized Facts of Inequality,” as part of the Sociology Department Colloquium Series. 

Abstract: 

This talk highlights one influential category of quantitative descriptive claim: stylized facts. Stylized facts are simple empirical regularities in need of explanation. Stylized facts serve as quasi-phenomena for academic research, but also travel directly into political debates. I illustrate these dynamics through the intertwined history of research on the racial wealth gap and political demands for racial justice in the United States.