Associate Professor of Economics, St. Catherine University
Kristine West is an applied economist who specializes in program evaluation, labor economics and public policy. She joined the Welcoming the Dear Neighbor project in 2020 to help the team think about the economic impacts -- past and present -- of racial covenants and other types of housing discrimination. Together with a team of student collaborators she is investigating how covenants shape our communities and contribute to persistent racial disparities. Dr. West also researches the economics of education and is interested in understanding the links between housing and schools. She is an associate professor at St. Catherine University where she serves as Endowed Professor in the Sciences and director of the Minnesota Center for Diversity in Economics.