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person1980s-present

David Card

Summary

A Canadian-American economist and Professor at UC Berkeley, awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2021 for his contributions to labor economics. Famous for pioneering the use of natural experiments to study causal questions in economics, particularly his work with Alan Krueger on minimum wage effects.

Core Contribution

Established the natural experiment methodology as the gold standard in empirical labor economics; with Krueger, produced influential evidence that minimum wage increases do not necessarily reduce employment — challenging the dominant neoclassical consensus; advanced the credibility revolution in economics.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Card-Krueger (1994) minimum wage study became one of most cited papers in economics
  • Nobel Prize 2021 shared with Angrist and Imbens
  • Natural experiment using NJ-PA border to study minimum wage — methodological landmark
  • Immigration research challenged claims about wage depression from immigration
  • His work on returns to education influenced education economics globally

Notable Works & Achievements

Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage

The New Economics of the Minimum Wage

Immigration and the New Economics of the American Labor Market

Wage Dispersion and Returns to Skill

Historical Influences

Orley Ashenfelter Alan Krueger James Heckman natural experiment tradition in econometrics

Intellectual Lineage

No conceptual lineage found.

Contemporaries & Peers

Alan Krueger Joshua AngristGuido ImbensLawrence Katz

Minds Influenced

Raj Chetty Emi Nakamuraentire credibility revolution generationminimum wage policy globally

Intellectual Posterity

No conceptual posterity found.

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