W. E. B. Du Bois and Economics: A Reappraisal

Guy Numa and Sammy Zahran

Journal of Economic Literature, 2026, vol. 64, issue 1, 38-88

Abstract: W. E. B. Du Bois is widely considered one of the most prominent American intellectuals of the twentieth century. While Du Bois has been praised for his contributions to sister disciplines, his contributions to economics have been underappreciated. Drawing upon published and unpublished sources documenting his academic training, his involvement in the economics profession, and his overall scholarship, this article shows that Du Bois made enduring contributions to economic science. We trace his intellectual formation as a student of the German Historical School of economics, analyzing his pioneering use of empirical methods to document the plight of Black Americans. Du Bois emphasized the role of power and institutions in structuring distributional outcomes and the importance of economic and social uplift. One implication is that by conducting intra- and intergroup analyses of racial, health, occupational, income, and wealth disparities, Du Bois anticipated the empirical and theoretical aims of stratification economics.

JEL-codes: B13 B25 B31 B55 I00 J15 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1257/jel.20251789

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