The economics of reparations

IN A SURVEY last year 29% of Americans supported the idea that the government should make cash payments to black Americans who were descendants of slaves—twice the share that agreed in the early 2000s. As protests have rocked America in recent weeks, the idea of reparations to atone for the atrocity of slavery, as well as to reduce the persistent gaps in income and wealth between people of different skin colours, has gained further prominence. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has said he wants to explore it. On June 11th California’s state lawmakers passed a bill that establishes a task-force to study and propose recommendations for reparations. The chances of the federal government implementing such a policy seem remote. But how would such a scheme work?