This work brings together for the first time the ideas, philosophies and interpretations of North America's leading African American economists, demonstrating that racial inequality has had an immense impact on African Americans' daily lives.

1 PREAMBLE: THE ECONOMIC COST OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACK AMERICANS Part I Poverty, inequality and public policy 2 MYRDAL'S CUMULATIVE HYPOTHESIS: ITS ANTECEDENTS AND ITS CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS 3 GHETTO POVERTY: BLACK PROBLEM OR HARBINGER OF THINGS TO COME? 4 IS THERE A NEW BLACK POVERTY IN AMERICA? LESSONS FROM HISTORY 5 A FRAMEWORK FOR ALLEVIATION OF INNER CITY POVERTY 6 ARE THE CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST? STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN YOUTH UP-FRONT OR DEBILITATING COST AT THE REAR 7 GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY, AND THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS 8 IN THE MATTER OF RACE AND HOUSING 9 THE THEORY OF RESTITUTION: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CASE 10 DONOR POLICIES IN AFRICA: A REVIEW OF THE PAST, A LOOK TO THE FUTURE Part II Historical perspectives on race, economics and social transformation 11 THE EAST AFRICAN COAST DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION 12 TRADE AND MARKETS IN PRECOLONIAL WEST AND WEST CENTRAL AFRICA: THE CULTURAL FOUNDATION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS TRADITION 13 "OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND": THE STRUGGLE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN INTELLECTUALS AGAINST THE INVISIBILITY OF THE SLAVE[RY] TRADE IN WORLD ECONOMIC HISTORY 14 PROMOTING BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA: THE NATIONAL NEGRO CONVENTION, 1830-60 Part III Theory and method 15 UNRAVELING THE PARADOX OF DEEPENING URBAN INEQUALITY: THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS, RESEARCH DESIGN, AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A MULTICITY STUDY 16 SOME HETERODOX MODELS OF INEQUALITY IN THE MARKET FOR LABOR POWER 17 A THEORY ON THE EVOLUTION OF BLACK BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 18 INSTABILITIES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA: THE ROLE OF EXPORT PRICE INSTABILITY 19 MACROECONOMIC POLICY, CYCLICAL FLUCTUATION, AND INCOME INEQUALITY: SOME COINTEGRATION RESULTS