Allegations Made About Academic Record Of Leading Economist

Lisa D. Cook, a highly esteemed economist, has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by the Obama administration in 2022. Despite her impressive credentials as a professor at Harvard University and Michigan State University, persistent questions have been raised about her academic record. These questions have raised concerns about her nomination to the Fed, which required the Vice President to cast a tie-breaking vote.

One of the main criticisms of Cook’s scholarship is the thinness of her publication history for a tenured professor. Her published work has also faced scrutiny for predominantly focusing on race activism rather than rigorous, quantitative economics. In her most renowned work, 2014’s “Violence and Economic Activity: Evidence from African American Patents, 1870 to 1940,” Cook claimed that lynchings and discrimination caused a sudden drop in the number of patents by black inventors in 1900. However, this premise was debunked by subsequent studies, calling into question the validity of her conclusions.

Additionally, Cook’s credibility has been called into question due to discrepancies in her resume. Investigative journalist Christopher Brunet discovered that Cook had misrepresented her publication history, claiming to have published an article in the prestigious journal American Economic Review when in reality, it was published in a less prestigious, non-peer-reviewed magazine.

Further investigations into Cook’s academic papers have revealed a pattern of careless scholarship or, at worst, academic misconduct. A City Journal and Daily Wire investigation uncovered instances where Cook had copied and pasted language from other scholars without proper quotation and duplicated her own work and that of coauthors without proper attribution. These practices appear to be in violation of Michigan State University’s academic standards.

In one 2021 paper, “The Antebellum Roots of Distinctively Black Names,” Cook copied and pasted verbatim language from two other scholars’ work without using quotation marks when describing their findings, as required. In another instance, her 2021 paper “Closing the Innovation Gap in Pink and Black” summarized the work of other researchers without properly citing them.

Moreover, Cook’s own 2018 paper, “Rural Segregation and Racial Violence,” appeared to largely duplicate the work of her coauthors, Trevon Logan and John Parman, without proper attribution. The paper also contained identical language from an earlier paper the two had published without Cook’s involvement.

These instances suggest a disregard for academic standards, including the rule against self-plagiarism, which prohibits the republishing of identical material in different journals without proper attribution. The consequences of such academic misconduct can include loss of job, reputation, and reduced or failing grades, as well as potentially harsher consequences for students.

Despite Cook’s own involvement in attempting to remove a colleague from his position at the University of Chicago for publicly opposing the “defund the police” movement, it remains to be seen whether her alleged academic misconduct will face similar consequences. With Cook now in a powerful position on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, there are concerns about her ability to uphold the institution’s mandate without succumbing to left-wing activism.

Ultimately, the credibility of Lisa D. Cook as an economist and member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is in question. Her academic record has been called into question, and the pattern of careless scholarship or academic misconduct in her work raises concerns about her qualifications for such a prestigious position. As Cook takes on a role that has significant influence over the economy, it is crucial for her to maintain the highest standards of credibility and integrity in her work.