Date of Award

5-2023

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Academic Program

Political Science BA

Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

First Advisor

Kathanne Greene, Ph.D.

Advisor Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Abstract

In tort litigation, specifically catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, forensic economists are employed to determine a plaintiff’s projected worklife and life expectancy, which is then presented to a jury as lost income. Often, projections of life expectancy and worklife use race and sex-based statistics. For example, a white female, on average, may live a significantly longer life than a black male. Additionally, said white female may, on average, work for fewer years than her male counterparts. In this research, case law of Mississippi and New York were read closely for mentions of race and sex-based statistics in forensic economics in tort litigation, and experts were consulted to analyze the current attitudes towards race and sex-based statistics. This research found that Mississippi still actively uses both race and sex discriminatorily, while New York has banned the use of race. The use of sex-based statistics has not been banned in New York, and sex-based statistics are still being used discriminatorily, despite questions of the practice’s constitutionality at the federal level.

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