In the Fall of 2021, the Economics department launched a new visiting speaker series on Race, Privilege, and Inequality. The objective of this new series is to bring to campus economists who can speak knowledgeably to current issues surrounding racial inequality.
2026 Lecture
“The Effects of Mental Health on Financial Decision-Making and Implications for Policy” by Dr. Vicki Bogan
April 21, 4:15-5:15 p.m., AGH Room 114
This year’s Race, Privilege and Inequality Speaker Series lecturer is Dr. Vicki Bogan, Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and Director of Graduate Studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy MPP Program. Professor Bogan specializes in household finance, inequality, and applied microeconomics, specifically regarding financial markets and investment behavior. She is the 5th speaker in the Economics department’s Race, Privilege and Inequality Visiting Speaker Series.
Lecture summary
In the U.S., over 59 million people (almost one in five U.S. adults) have mental health issues. Mental health issues are becoming increasingly prevalent and are important to consider with respect to the economic decision-making of households. This talk discusses the connection between mental health and household financial decisions and how this connection influences financial security and wealth building.
Previous Lectures
- May 13, 2025 – “Middle Class Attainment in Young Adulthood: Higher Education and Racial Wealth Inequality” by Dr. Fenaba R. Addo
- April 15, 2024 – “Health Equity Issues among Immigrants and Hispanics: The Role of Economics and Immigration Policies” by Dr. Monica Garcia-Perez, Professor in the Department of Economics, Herberger School of Business, St. Cloud State University; Visiting Senior Faculty, Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University
- October 6, 2022 – “The Minnesota Paradox: Racial Inequality and Progressive Public Policy” by Samuel L. Myers, Jr., Roy Wilkins Professor of Human Relations and Social Justice, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
- October 20, 2021 – “How Economists Think About Discrimination: The Green Books and the Geography of Public Accommodations Segregation” by Dr. Trevor Logan, the Associate Dean and Hazel C. Youngberg Trustees Distinguished Professor of Economics, College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University.