April 24, 2015, 3:06 PM ET Harvard’s Roland Fryer Wins John Bates Clark Medal

ByNick Timiraos

Harvard professor Roland Fryer, an economist who has done pioneering work on the sources and magnitude of racial inequality, won the John Bates Clark medal, which is given to the most promising American economist under 40 years old.

Roland Fryer, a Harvard professor who won this year’s John Bates Clark medal. Harvard University The American Economic Association, which announced the prize on Friday, said Mr. Fryer’s work made him “a major figure in the evaluation of education policies to narrow the racial achievement gap.”

Mr. Fryer, 37, founded Harvard’s Education Innovation Laboratory, known as EdLabs, in 2008 and serves as its director. From 2007 to 2008, he served as the chief equality officer for New York City’s Department of Education. In a 2013 paper, Mr. Fryer examined the benefits of high­ achieving charter school that extend beyond the classroom, studying Harlem’s Promise Academy in New York City.

Mr. Fryer is the first African­American to win the medal. At 30, he became the youngest African­ American to receive tenure at Harvard.

The Clark medal is often referred to as the “Baby Nobel” because many of its winners have gone on to win Nobel Prizes, including Paul Krugman and Milton Friedman. The medal doesn’t come with a monetary prize. It has been awarded every other year since 1947; since 2010, it has been awarded annually.

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