Glenn Cartman Loury (born September 3, 1948) is an American
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
, academic, and author. He is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where he has taught since 2005.
At the age of 33, Loury became the first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
professor of economics at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
to gain
tenure.
Loury achieved prominence during the
Reagan Era as a leading
black conservative intellectual.
In the mid 1990s, following a period of seclusion, he adopted more progressive views.
Today, Loury has somewhat re-aligned with views of the
American right, with ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' describing his political orientation in 2020 as "conservative-leaning."
Early life and education
Loury was born in the South Side of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, growing up in a
redlined neighborhood. Before going to college he fathered two children, and supported them with a job in a printing plant. When he wasn't working he took classes at Southeast Junior College where he won a scholarship to study at Northwestern University.
In 1972, he received his
B.A. degree in mathematics from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. He received his
Ph.D. in economics from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
in 1976, writing his dissertation, "Essays in the Theory of the Distribution of Income", under the supervision of
Robert M. Solow. At MIT he met his future wife,
Linda Datcher Loury
Linda Datcher Loury (January 19, 1952 – September 22, 2011) was an American economist who was a professor of economics at Tufts University. Her work on family and neighborhood economics put her among the founders of social economics.
Biograp ...
.
Career
Loury became an assistant professor of economics at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
after receiving his doctorate. In 1979, he moved to teach at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and was promoted to full professor of economics in 1980.
In 1982, at age 33, Loury became the first
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
tenured professor of economics in the history of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
.
He moved to Harvard's
Kennedy School of Government after two years. While at Kennedy school he would befriend
William Bennett and
Bill Kristol
William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is now ...
(Later he said in an interview that his economics appointment was a mistake because he "wasn’t yet fully established as a scientist".)
In 1984, Loury drew the attention of critics with "A New American Dilemma", published in ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'', where he addressed what he terms "fundamental failures in black society" such as "the lagging academic performance of black students, the disturbingly high rate of black-on-black crime, and the alarming increase in early unwed pregnancies among blacks."
In 1987, Loury was under consideration to be an
Undersecretary of Education
The tractate ''Of Education'' was published in 1644, first appearing anonymously as a single eight-page quarto sheet (Ainsworth 6). Presented as a letter written in response to a request from the Puritan educational reformer Samuel Hartlib, it r ...
in the
Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...
. He withdrew from consideration on June 1, three days before citing personal reasons. Loury was later arrested for possession of
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...
.
After a subsequent period of seclusion and self-reflection, Loury reemerged as a
born-again Christian
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...
and described himself as a "black
progressive."
Loury left Harvard in 1991 to go to
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
, where he headed the Institute on Race and Social Division. In 2005, Loury left Boston University for
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where he was named a professor in the Economics Department, and a research associate of the Population Studies and Training Center.
Loury's areas of study include applied
microeconomic theory:
welfare economics,
game theory
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...
,
industrial organization,
natural resource economics, and the economics of
income distribution. In addition to economics, he has also written extensively on the themes of racial inequality and social policy. Loury testified on racial issues before the Senate Banking Committee on March 4, 2021. and presented at the Bruce D. Benson Center Lecture Series at the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
on February 8, 2021.
Loury hosts ''The Glenn Show'' on
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...
with
John McWhorter, often regarding questions of race and education.
Political positions
On a 2017 episode of the
Sam Harris podcast ''Waking Up'', Loury stated that while he used to be "a Reagan conservative", he now thought of himself as a "centrist Democrat, or maybe a mildly right-of-center Democrat."
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
described Loury as "conservative-leaning" and
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
described Loury as a “Reagan Republican”.
Loury opposes
reparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...
Affirmative action and
cancel culture
Cancel culture, or rarely also known as call-out culture, is a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles—whether it be online, o ...
. Loury supports increased border security. On January 9, 2007, Loury spoke out against increasing the number of troops in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.
In June 2020, Loury published a rebuttal to a letter Brown University president
Christina Paxson
Christina Hull Paxson (born February 6, 1960) is an American economist and public health expert serving as the 19th president of Brown University. Previously, she was the Hughes Rogers Professor of Economics & Public Affairs at Princeton Univers ...
sent to students and alumni in response to the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...
by a policeman. Loury questioned the purpose of Paxson's letter, saying it either "affirmed platitudes to which we can all subscribe, or, more menacingly, it asserted controversial and arguable positions as though they were axiomatic certainties."
Loury was opposed to
Barack Obama in his 2008 presidential run. During debates with
John McWhorter, Loury defended
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. Loury would later blame Trump for the
2021 United States Capitol attack
On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then- U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in p ...
. He opposed the
second impeachment of Donald Trump
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...
.
Legal issues
In 1987 Loury was arrested for assault, a 23-year-old student graduate alleged that Loury had shredded her clothes, dragging her down stairs, and throwing her things out the window. Loury plead not guilty to the charges and the charges would eventually be dropped.
That same year Loury was later arrested for possession of
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...
and
Cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
. Loury plead not guilty to the charges.
Awards and honors
Loury was elected as a member of the
Econometric Society
The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools to their field. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians or statisticians. ...
in 1994, Vice President of the American Economics Society in 1997, a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 2000, and a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 2011. He was elected president of the Eastern Economics Association in 2013. Loury is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
and is a main academic contributor to the
1776 Unites project. He received the
Bradley Prize in 2022, and was named the
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...
Fellow from the
American Academy of Political & Social Science for that same year.
Personal life
Loury's wife
Linda Datcher Loury
Linda Datcher Loury (January 19, 1952 – September 22, 2011) was an American economist who was a professor of economics at Tufts University. Her work on family and neighborhood economics put her among the founders of social economics.
Biograp ...
died in 2011.
He has since remarried.
[@GlennLoury, Twitter]
Tweet dated Nov 22, 2021 at 2:15 PM.
/ref>
Publications
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References
External links
Glenn Loury's webpage
at Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
Loury's Fellow page
at the American Academy of Political & Social Science
*
Loury's blog
on Substack
Video interviews/discussions with Loury
at bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv (sometimes abbreviated "bhtv") is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast on ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loury, Glenn C.
1948 births
Living people
African-American Christians
African-American non-fiction writers
American non-fiction writers
American social scientists
Economists from Illinois
Brown University faculty
Harvard University faculty
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni
Northwestern University alumni
Rhode Island Independents
Writers from Boston
Writers from Chicago
Writers from Rhode Island
Fellows of the Econometric Society
African-American economists
American Book Award winners
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Distinguished Fellows of the American Economic Association
20th-century American economists
21st-century American economists
Economists from Massachusetts
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
Reagan Era