A New Decision Calculus: Race in International Political Economy Studies

Abstract

On September 30, 2020, several of us dialed in to attend a webinar panel discussion on “Race, Identity and Culture in the (Post-)Globalization Era.” The participants shared their thoughts on how and why race factors into international political and economic processes. In the spirit of addressing the topic from a political economy perspective, it seems worthwhile to outline the decision calculus that determines why considering race in international political economy (IPE) research is a good idea. If the benefit b of accounting for race times the probability p of success outweighs the costs c weighted by the probability (1 - p) of failure, race should be a key component of IPE research moving forward.

Measuring the Wages of Whiteness: A Project for Political Economists

“…Roundtable speakers pushed past this dichotomy, arguing that scholars should treat race itself as a material interest, such that those who are prioritize it are acting rationally in political economic terms. As Gina Yannitell Reinhardt (2021) notes in this special collection, there is growing recognition that "globalization, growth, and social and economic development have brought varying levels of wealth and hardship based on group characteristics such as race, gender, and class." Yet the roundtable participants struggled to identify ways that political economists might practically apply such a view of race, because, as Kathleen McNamara argues in her roundtable comments, race is both mutable and relational, making it difficult to operationalize as a variable.…”