I am a macroeconomist who uses lynching in economic analysis & was a student of George Akerlof, Barry Eichengreen, David Romer & Paul Romer.

When I taught at Harvard, I taught 2 fundamental equations for economic analysis:

Y = C + I + G + (X-M) (1) and

Y = F(K, L, A) (2). 1/N

I use “human capital” to explain models that got macro to the endogenous-growth equation, Eq. (2). I also teach how slaveowners & Confederates tried to extract "disembodied human capital" from enslaved persons by giving them the right to patent prior to emancipation. 2/N

As @trevondlogan knows, I spent 10 years trying to get my paper on lynching & economic activity published in econ journals (thx JEG!). Spent most time educating referees/fellow economists on US history. Main, persistent questions/comments:

1) What is a former slave? 3/N

2) Why would anyone care about a lynching victim or a riot in another state?
3) Change “extralegal” & “extrajudicial” killings to “lynchings.” They’re not the same.

I was shocked, saddened & demoralized by the ignorance and lack of empathy of the referees. 4/N

I was also amazed at how wedded economists are to the meanings of words, even if not traditionally found in economics. Within and outside of our discipline, there is nuance in the meaning of terms, and we should acknowledge this. 5/N

George Akerlof, Ken Arrow, @SandyDarity, Barry Eichengreen, and Milton Friedman were the earliest readers of this paper & encouraged the paper & type of analysis – within the framework of macroeconomic analysis & innovation. The referees’ questions were not theirs. 6/N

I gave the lynchings and economic activity paper @HCEO @UChicago with @sndurlauf last year. Seminar attendees, many of whom are jr economists & scholars, expressed disbelief at the referees’ questions. The referees’ questions were also not theirs. 7/N

The first referee reports were from AER. One of these referees suggested that I write a book, b/c there was so much new information (to economists) in the paper. This was a wise person. With all the material I created for referee reports, I may have to write this book now! 8/N