Charles North, Ph.D.

Do I Love My Neighbor? How Mild Preferences Among Workers Can Build Silos

In this breakout session, discover how stark separation of groups of people can result from mild preferences to be with people with whom you have things in common, and think about how to bridge those gaps.

Session Speaker

Charles North is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Baylor University. He has been a member of the department since completing his PhD at the University of Texas. Prior to earning his doctorate in economics, North had graduated from Duke University School of Law and practiced law in Dallas for four years. As a result, most of North’s research links economics and law in some way. For example, he has studied the effects of government restrictions on religious practice, as well as the potential link between religion and the rule of law at the country level. He is currently working with colleagues at Baylor and elsewhere to study criminal justice issues using experimental economics tools.

North currently teaches introductory economics to students in the Business Fellows and University Scholars programs. He also teaches an upper-level elective in Law and Economics. Over his time at Baylor, North has taught microeconomic theory at the principles, intermediate, and graduate levels, as well as courses in game theory, labor economics, and the economics of religion. He serves as an associate director of the Baylor Business Fellows program, and he also served as chair of the Department of Economics from 2015 to 2021.