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Glenn Loury

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Not to be confused with the art historian and museum director, Glenn D. Lowry.
Glenn Loury
Born
Glenn Cartman Loury

(1948-09-03) September 3, 1948 (age 76)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Spouses
Charlene
​
(divorced)​
​
​
(m. 1983; death 2011)​
Lajuan Loury
​
(m. 2017)​
Children5
Academic career
FieldSocial economics
InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan
Harvard University
Boston University
Brown University
Doctoral
advisor		Robert Solow[1]
Doctoral
students		Rohini Somanathan
InfluencesGary Becker
Thomas Sowell
ContributionsCoate–Loury model
Information at IDEAS / RePEc
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Glenn Cartman Loury, (born September 3, 1948) is an American economist, academic, and author. He is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences at Brown University, where he has taught since 2005 also as a professor of economics.[2] At the age of 33, Loury became the first African American professor of economics at Harvard University to gain tenure.

Loury achieved prominence during the Reagan Era as a leading black conservative intellectual.[3][4] In the mid-1990s, following a period of seclusion, he adopted more progressive views.[5] Loury has somewhat re-aligned with views of the American right, with The New York Times describing his political orientation in 2020 as "conservative-leaning."[6][7][8]

Early life and education

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Loury was born on September 3, 1948,[9] in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, 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.[10][11]

In 1972, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Northwestern University. He then received a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976, writing his dissertation, "Essays in the Theory of the Distribution of Income", under the supervision of Nobel laureate Robert M. Solow.[12] At MIT he met his future wife, Linda Datcher Loury.[13]

Career

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Loury became an assistant professor of economics at Northwestern University after receiving his doctorate. In 1979, he moved to teach at the University of Michigan, and was promoted to full professor of economics in 1980. In 1982, at age 33, Loury became the first black tenured professor of economics in the history of Harvard University.[3] He moved to Harvard's Kennedy School of Government after two years.[14] While at Kennedy school he would befriend William Bennett and Bill Kristol[3] (He later said in an interview that his economics appointment was a mistake because he "wasn’t yet fully established as a scientist".[15])

In 1987, Loury was under consideration to be an Undersecretary of Education in the Reagan administration. He withdrew from consideration on June 1, three days before citing personal reasons.[16]

Loury was arrested for drug possession in December 1987, six months after his assault and battery charges on Pamela Foster.[17] After a subsequent period of seclusion and self-reflection, Loury reemerged as a born-again Christian and described himself as a "black progressive."[18] Loury left Harvard in 1991 to go to Boston University, where he headed the Institute on Race and Social Division. In 2005, Loury left Boston University for Brown University, 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, 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.[19] Loury testified on racial issues before the Senate Banking Committee on March 4, 2021.[20] and presented at the Bruce D. Benson Center Lecture Series at the University of Colorado Boulder on February 8, 2021.[citation needed]

Loury hosts The Glenn Show on his Substack with John McWhorter, often regarding questions of race and education.[21][non-primary source needed]

Political positions

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On a 2017 episode of the Sam Harris podcast Making Sense, 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".[22] The New York Times has described Loury as "conservative-leaning" and The Wall Street Journal as a "Reagan Republican".[23][24]

On January 9, 2007, Loury spoke out against increasing the number of US troops in Iraq.[25]

Presidential elections and candidates

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Loury was opposed to Barack Obama in his 2008 presidential run.[26] He continued to criticize Obama as president calling his tenure “depressing in the extreme" and also criticized Obama's closeness to Al Sharpton.[27][28]

In 2016, he supported Hillary Clinton.[29] After the 2016 United States presidential election, Loury said it was dangerous for people not to recognize Donald Trump as the 45th President. During debates with John McWhorter, Loury defended Donald Trump.[30] During Trump's presidency he doubted claims that Trump was an existential threat to the public. After Trump refused to concede that he lost the 2020 United States presidential election, however, he rebuked Trump.[31] Loury would later blame Trump for the 2021 United States Capitol attack but opposed the second impeachment of Donald Trump.[32]

Race

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Loury opposes reparations for slavery and affirmative action.[16][33] He has said that "affirmative action is not the solution, but neither is it the problem".[34] Conversely, he has criticized affirmative action saying, "Affirmative action is dishonest. It’s not about equality, it’s about covering ass."[35][36]

In 1984, Loury drew the attention of critics with "A New American Dilemma," published in The New Republic, a piece in which he addressed what he termed "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."[37]

In June 2020, Loury published a rebuttal to a letter that Brown University president Christina Paxson sent to students and alumni in response to the murder of George Floyd 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."[38]

Immigration

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On immigration, Loury said in an interview segment in The First Measured Century, "There are benefits of immigration, and there are also costs. The benefits in terms of cheaper, eager labor to help we Americans produce the products that we want to consume. The costs are in terms of making it more difficult to equalize the economic circumstances of some Americans who are at the bottom of the heap, because they now have more competition for their labor, as a result of immigration."[39]

Awards and honors

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Loury was elected as a member of the Econometric Society in 1994, Vice President of the American Economics Society in 1997, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000, and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2011.[40][41][42] He was elected president of the Eastern Economics Association in 2013. Loury is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations 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 Fellow from the American Academy of Political & Social Science for that same year.[43][44]

Personal life

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Loury fathered two children as a teenager with his first wife, Charlene.[45] He also has a son from another relationship, Alden, who serves as data projects editor for WBEZ in Chicago.

Loury and his wife, Linda Datcher Loury, had two sons together.[45] Linda died in 2011.[13] He has since remarried.[46]

In 2024, Loury announced his diagnosis of arthritis and stenosis of the lower-mid spine. He underwent surgery on April 11, 2024, and plans further surgical treatments.[47]

Publications

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  • Loury, Glenn Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative, New York: Norton. 2024
  • Loury, Glenn (1995). One by One From the Inside Out: Essays and Reviews on Race and Responsibility in America (First ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0-02-919441-6.
  • "Social Exclusion and Ethnic Groups: The Challenge to Economics" (PDF). Boston University. 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  • Loury, Glenn (2002). The Anatomy of Racial Inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00625-6.
  • Loury, Glenn; Modood, Tariq; Teles, Steven (2005). Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy: Comparing the US and the UK. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82309-8.
  • Loury, Glenn; Karlan, Pamela; Wacquant, Loic; Shelby, Tommie (2008). Race, Incarceration, and American Values. A Boston review book. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-12311-2.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Loury, Glenn Cartman (1976). Essays in the Theory of the Distribution of Income (Ph.D.). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/27456.
  2. ^ "Glenn Loury | Watson Institute". May 9, 2023. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Glenn Loury's About Face". The New York Times. January 20, 2002. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Bill Moyers Journal . Patterson and Loury on Race in America | PBS". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Robert Boynton (May 1, 1995). "Loury's Exodus: A profile of Glenn Loury". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  6. ^ Powell, Michael (October 17, 2020). "'White Supremacy' Once Meant David Duke and the Klan. Now It Refers to Much More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Brooks, David (November 18, 2021). "The Terrifying Future of the American Right". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (July 10, 2020). "Opinion | A Challenger of the Woke 'Company Policy'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Loury, Glenn 1948–". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Angelica Spertini (May 15, 2006). "Glenn C. Loury Biography" (PDF). econ.brown.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  11. ^ "Biography of Glenn C. Loury" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Loury, Glenn Cartman (1976). Essays in the theory of the distribution of income (Thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/27456. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Marquard, Bryan (October 2, 2011). "Linda Datcher Loury, 59, pioneer in social economics". Boston.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020 – via The Boston Globe.
  14. ^ Shatz, Adam (January 20, 2002). "About Face". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "'Affirmative Action is Not About Equality. It's About Covering Ass.'". June 17, 2019. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Loury's Exodus: A profile of Glenn Loury – Robert S Boynton". Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Harvard Teacher Faces Drug Charges in Boston". The New York Times. December 3, 1987.
  18. ^ Boynton, Robert S. (April 24, 1995). "LOURY'S EXODUS". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  19. ^ "Glenn Loury, Brown University Population Studies and Training Center". Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  20. ^ Loury, Glenn (March 4, 2021). "A Formula for Tyranny and More Racism". City Journal. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  21. ^ "The Glenn Show". glennloury.substack.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  22. ^ Harris, Sam (2020). Making Sense. Bantam Press. p. 215. ISBN 9781787630420.
  23. ^ Powell, Michael (October 17, 2020). "'White Supremacy' Once Meant David Duke and the Klan. Now It Refers to Much More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  24. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (July 10, 2020). "Opinion | A Challenger of the Woke 'Company Policy'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  25. ^ "Roundtable: Funding the Iraq War, Somalia". NPR.org. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  26. ^ Staff, The New Republic (February 23, 2009). "Glenn Loury And Me On Bloggingheads". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "Obama's Missed Opportunity". Glenn Loury. June 20, 2021. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  28. ^ Kennedy, Randall (May 8, 2020). "Did Obama Fail Black America?". POLITICO Magazine. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  29. ^ "Bloggingheads.tv". Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  30. ^ "I was wrong about Trump". Glenn Loury. January 17, 2021. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  31. ^ Elton, Catherine (January 11, 2022). "The Interview: Brown University Professor Glenn Loury". Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  32. ^ "I was wrong about Trump". Glenn Loury. January 17, 2021. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  33. ^ "The Interview: Brown University Professor Glenn Loury". Boston Magazine. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  34. ^ "Edley - Response". www.theatlantic.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  35. ^ Perry, Mark (June 21, 2019). "Glenn Loury: 'Affirmative action is dishonest. It's not about equality, it's about covering ass'". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  36. ^ Goldstein_, Evan (June 17, 2019). "'Affirmative Action Is Not About Equality. It's About Covering Ass.'". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  37. ^ "LOURY'S EXODUS". The New Yorker. April 24, 1995. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  38. ^ "I Must Object". July 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  39. ^ "First Measured Century: Interview: Glenn Loury". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  40. ^ "Fellows of the Econometric Society 1950 to 2019". The Econometric Society. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  41. ^ "Glenn C. Loury". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  42. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  43. ^ "Bradley Foundation: Glenn Loury, distinguished economist and scholar, selected as a 2022 Bradley Prize winner". Bradley Foundation. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  44. ^ "Seven Eminent Scholars Elected 2022 AAPSS Fellows". The American Academy of Political & Social Science. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  45. ^ a b Shatz, Adam (January 20, 2002). "About Face". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  46. ^ @GlennLoury, Twitter, Tweet dated Nov 22, 2021 at 2:15 PM. Archived March 19, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ A Health Update from Glenn | The Glenn Show. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
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