David Card facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Card
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Card in 2021
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| Born | 1956 (age 68–69) Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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| Institutions | |
| Field | Labour economics |
| Doctoral advisor |
Orley Ashenfelter |
| Doctoral students |
Thomas Lemieux Phillip B. Levine Christoph M. Schmidt Michael Greenstone Jesse Rothstein Philip Oreopoulos David Lee Janet Currie Enrico Moretti Heather Royer Elizabeth Cascio Ethan G. Lewis Nicole Maestas |
| Awards | John Bates Clark Medal (1995) IZA Labor Economics Award (2006) Frisch Medal (2008) BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2014) Jacob Mincer Award (2019) Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2021) |
| Information at IDEAS / RePEc | |
David Card, born in 1956, is a Canadian-American economist. He studies how people work and earn money, a field called labour economics. He is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2021, he won half of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He received this award for his important research in labour economics. The other half of the prize was shared by Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David Card was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1956. His parents were dairy farmers. He went to John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute from 1970 to 1975.
Card first studied physics in college. Later, he changed his focus to economics. He earned his first degree from Queen's University in 1978. He then received his Ph.D. degree in economics from Princeton University in 1983. His Ph.D. paper was about how wages are set in long-term work agreements.
Career in Economics
Card started his teaching career at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He worked there for two years. From 1983 to 1997, he taught at Princeton University. In 1997, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he still teaches today. He also spent some time as a visiting professor at Columbia University.
Card helped edit important economics journals. These included the Journal of Labor Economics, Econometrica, and The American Economic Review.
Important Research Work
David Card is known for his research on several key topics. These include the minimum wage, immigration, education, and job training. He often compares situations in the United States and Canada in his studies.
Minimum Wage Studies
In the early 1990s, Card and his colleague Alan B. Krueger did a famous study. They looked at what happened when the minimum wage went up in New Jersey. Many economists at the time believed that raising the minimum wage would cause businesses to hire fewer people.
However, Card and Krueger found something different. Their study showed that the minimum wage increase did not lead to fewer jobs at fast-food restaurants in New Jersey. This finding was surprising to many. While some people questioned their methods, later studies often supported Card and Krueger's results. Many well-known economists, like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, now accept these findings.
Research on Immigration
Card has also done important work on immigration. His research suggests that new immigrants have a very small effect on the economy. He found that immigrant groups often adapt quickly. He also found that they have little or no impact on wages for other workers.
For example, Card studied the economic effects of the Mariel boatlift. This was when many Cuban immigrants arrived in Miami. He compared Miami's economy to other cities that received fewer Cuban immigrants. Even though Miami had a big increase in workers, Card found that wages for low-skilled workers were not much affected. Overall unemployment and wages in Miami also stayed the same. Card believes that the economic arguments against immigration are not very strong.
"Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of Minimum Wage"
Card and Alan B. Krueger wrote a book called "Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of Minimum Wage."
Why They Wrote the Book
The main reason for this book was to challenge a common belief. Many economists thought that raising the minimum wage would always lead to fewer jobs. Card and Krueger wanted to show that this was not necessarily true. They used "natural experiments" in their research. This means they studied real-world situations where the minimum wage changed. They believed this would give stronger evidence.
The book also aimed to show the importance of using real-world data and experiments in economics. They wanted to make economics more like a science that uses facts and numbers.
What the Book Concluded
"Myth and Measurement" had two main conclusions. First, raising the minimum wage does not always cause job losses. Their studies showed that when the minimum wage went up, employment either increased, stayed the same, or had only a very small decrease.
Second, the book suggested that the usual economic models don't fully explain the low-wage job market. They found things that didn't fit the old ideas. For example, workers with similar skills sometimes earned different wages. Also, minimum wage jobs often attracted more applicants than expected. These findings suggested that new ways of thinking about the low-wage market were needed.
Card believed their work had two big impacts. For policy, he felt people focused too much on how minimum wage affects jobs or poverty. He thought the real focus should be on how it affects wage differences. For economic research, he hoped it would encourage more studies using real-world data from businesses. This would help economists understand wages better.
Awards and Recognition
David Card has received many important awards for his work.
In 1995, he won the John Bates Clark Medal. This award is given to a top American economist under the age of forty. He received it for his research on the minimum wage and the economic effects of the Mariel boatlift.
He also received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2014. This award recognized his "contributions to empirical microeconomics." The award committee praised his careful research and use of economic tools.
In 2021, David Card was chosen as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Later that year, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He received this top honor for his research that showed two key things:
- An increase in the minimum wage does not necessarily lead to less hiring.
- Immigrants do not lower pay for workers who were born in the country.
See also
In Spanish: David Card para niños
